Naruto Chronicles
by noroadsleft
Summary: Mathew Withau, a shinobi from the United States, must discover his true power and ally himself with the shinobi of the Hidden Leaf to bring down those who would do harm to the world.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

THE BEGINNING

It started like this. My name is Matt Withau. I was just your average, ordinary twelve-year-old. But then, my life changed. Drastically. Horribly. I was originally a sixth-grader at DuBray Middle School in St. Peters, Missouri. Anyways, I was on my way to Social Studies, my worst class. My teacher, Mr. Elmy, was one of my favorite teachers. He always made the class fun. There was hardly a dull moment. Today, we were coloring a map of South America. I know, sounds boring. Notice how I said _hardly_. When the class finally ended, I went and headed to Ms. Hannibal's Communication Arts class. This was always my best class.

I pretty much aced the two worksheets we were given and went on to Reading. Now, I'm sorry, but I swear, my Reading teacher, Mr. Saisho Teki, is a downright pervert. He looks down girls' shirts! I'm not lying! Anyways, it was my last class of the day, so I just breezed through it.

When the day was finally done, I grabbed my stuff from my locker and headed out the door to the bus. I got off at my stop and saw someone taking out the trash. He was wearing a mask that completely covered his face except for his right eye. His left was covered by a dark-blue sweat-band. He also had silver, spiky hair. Despite this, he looked like he was about thirty-years-old. There was a chance he just tanned a lot, except he was white as a ghost. The only other conclusion I could come up with was that he had a tough job and was under a lot of stress. I had seen him around a few times, but I didn't know him personally. He saw me walking by and waved in greeting. I waved back and continued walking.

The rest of my day went on completely normal. My next day went completely weird during third hour. I had Gym that day with Mrs. Ford. And that is where things went spinning out of control. There was no Mrs. Ford. Instead, there was a Mr. Kacey Hindricks. I did a double-take. It was the silver-haired masked man from my neighborhood. The class started and Mr. Hindricks introduced himself.

"My name is Mr. Hindricks. Unfortunately, your old teacher, Mrs. Ford, had an accident and won't be teaching you anymore. So now, I am your teacher. Now, I don't know what she expects of you, but I will have no horsing around. You will do what I say, no more, no less. Is that understood?" Some of the students murmured agreement. "Now, it's time for your exercises."

Gym class used to be relatively easy. Now, we might as well have been in a boot camp. When the exercises finally ended, the best words of the day were announced. "And now, it's time for a game of Jailbreak." The entire class erupted in cheer. I was made team-captain along with Nick Clark. He got almost all of the really athletic kids while I got two athletes and everyone else. The smart people and the nobodies: the people who weren't smart or fast or strong. The dodge balls were laid in a huge pile and Mr. Hindricks began the game. Only a few kids took a risk and went after a ball.

One of my team, Jacob Feldman sent a ball whizzing through the air and landed it right in another kid's stomach. The kid walked over to our side of the gym and into the designated 'jail' area. I ran out of the way of a ball headed towards me and ran after it. I picked it up and chucked it right back at the guy who had thrown it at me. I hit him and he went out. The game pretty much continued like this until finally, my side won with three people, counting me, left. The game had lasted so long, we didn't have time for another one. Mr. Hindricks dismissed us to go change and we left for fourth hour. The day ended and I went back home. I saw Mr. Hindricks outside on his porch.

"Good job today, Matt," he said.

"Thanks."

The next day, during Reading, I got in trouble for not doing my work. Oh yeah, I should mention, I can be smart when I want to be, but there are those times where I can be just as lazy as the next guy and not do my homework. And today was one of those days. He took me out to the hall and led me out to the office. We stopped in the cafeteria. I wasn't entirely positive why we were here. The Main Office was still a little ways away. He looked on towards it with a strange look in his eyes. It was like he wanted to go over and blow it up and everyone in it.

He looked back at me and said, "How long did Kakashi think he could keep you hidden?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"He really is a delusional idiot."

"I'm sorry, I-" His look changed from skepticism to pure rage. "And you're no different! You're just like all the rest of the little brats in this school! It's time someone put an end to you!" I backed up silently. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. But this wasn't a regular steak or combat knife. It was a Japanese kunai knife. He walked towards me with the knife at the ready. I backed up even further. I eventually backed into a wall. Mr. Teki was still coming.

I heard a screech from down the hall and saw Mr. Hindricks coming to a halt in the cafeteria. "Matt, catch!" and he tossed something through the air. It was another kunai knife, spinning through the air. I was afraid when I tried to catch it, I would get my hand cut off. That wasn't the case. I caught it perfectly by the handle. Mr. Teki charged with his knife. Through reflexes alone, I managed to block Mr. Teki's slash. I sidestepped him and managed to stab him in the side. He screamed and pulled the kunai out of his side. He threw it aside and clutched his side.

I backed from the wall and ran over towards Mr. Hindricks. He grabbed my arm and ran. He was way faster than any man I'd ever seen. And I had no choice but to try to keep up with him. We got to a bridge and Mr. Hindricks leaped over the edge of it and sent us into a creek. The water was knee-deep and we kept running. When we were surrounded on all sides by nothing but trees, we finally stopped.

"Mr. Hindricks," I gasped, "What on Earth is going on?"

"Well, I think it would be safe to start with the fact that my name isn't Kacey Hindricks. I am Kakashi Hatake."

"Kakashi?" I said. "Wait a minute; Mr. Teki was talking about a 'Kakashi!'"

"Yeah, that was me he was talking about," said Mr. Hindricks, Kakashi Hatake, whoever this guy was!

"Okay, well what was that back there?" I asked.

"He's been after you for a long time. He's been biding his time, waiting for a chance to get you alone. That's the reason I showed up, to protect you. Anyways, now that all this has been revealed, I guess it's time to prepare you for the battles ahead. Grab my shoulder."

I did so and he did something with his hands. It was like a sign. He had his right hand with his index and middle fingers pointed upward while his ring, pinky and thumb enclosed into a fist with his left hand in the same position right on top of it and the index and middle fingers alongside each other. I put my arm on his shoulder and the both of us were engulfed in a puff of white smoke. I felt like I was going a million miles an hour. It was like I was being ripped apart from the speed. Finally, when it felt like my eyes were going to be ripped out of my sockets, we stopped. We were in a completely different location.

We were in front of a large city with a bunch of different colored buildings. All the way in the back was a large mountain with four faces carved into it. Right in front of the city was a gigantic gate with a wall all the way around the village. Painted on the fifty-feet doors into the city were two Japanese characters. At first, I wondered what they said, then I realized I knew _exactly_ what they said. On the left door was the character for '_Leaf_' and on the right door was the character for '_Village_'. _Leaf Village_. This city was called the _Leaf Village_.

"I'm guessing you realized you understand those characters on the door?" Kakashi asked. I didn't answer. I was still wondering how I knew what that said. Kakashi Hatake led me through the city and towards a red mansion towards the back. We went inside and to the top floor. He knocked on a door and a female voice said, "Enter."

Kakashi opened the door and led me inside. There were two women in there. One was sitting at a desk. She had long, blond hair and wearing a white shirt and green jacket. The other one was standing near the window. She had short, black hair and was wearing a purple robe.

"Is this him?" the blond-headed lady asked.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Kakashi answered.

"Was he attacked?" Lady Tsunade asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi answered.

"So what do you want to do?" Tsunade asked.

"I want to train him myself, instead of being with the academy. I want to see his potential with my own eyes."

"Very well. This boy is your new student, and you will receive no missions until you feel his training has been complete. Is that understood?" Tsunade said.

"Yes, m'lady."

Kakashi led me back out of the building and towards a forest right outside the village.

"Okay, what the heck is going on?" I said, kind of irritated.

"Well, for starters, you're not just some ordinary kid," Kakashi said.

"Okay, then what am I?"

"You're a shinobi."

"What? As in, like, a ninja?"

"Mm-hm."

"So, are you a shinobi too?"

"Yes, I am. I came to you to bring you here; to train you; to make you stronger."

"And, when do we start?" I asked.

"Right now. So far, you seem to have a pretty good handle with a kunai knife, so we'll work on a ninja's other main weapon, the shuriken."

He reached into his pocket. What he pulled out was a four-edged star made of metal. He looked around and spotted a tree about ten feet away. He faced it and raised the shuriken. He swung his arm forward and the shuriken whizzed towards the tree. In about a millisecond, the shuriken hit the tree and the edge was embedded in the bark. He pulled out another shuriken and handed it to me. "Your turn."


	2. Chapter 2: Training

TRAINING

I took the shuriken and faced the tree tentatively. I raised the shuriken and tossed it. When I did, I hit that tree head-on. I chopped the thing right in half, right? Wrong. I missed the tree by about two feet and sent the shuriken whizzing into the forest.

"Well, that could've gone better," said Kakashi.

"Um, yeah, that's one way of putting it," I agreed.

Kakashi reached into his pocket and pulled out about ten more shuriken. He dropped all but one onto the ground and gave that one to me. "Practice with them until you have a handle on them. Afterwards, we'll work on something else."

"Okay." I threw the other shuriken at the tree and just barely missed it. I looked at the spot where the shuriken had passed and my eyes widened. A thin incision ran across the side of the tree.

"You're getting better," said Kakashi.

I picked up another shuriken and aimed it at the tree. I threw it and hit the tree about a foot above Kakashi's shuriken. I took the shuriken one after the other and hit the tree. I grabbed the last one and hesitated. "Hm? What's wrong?" Kakashi asked. I looked past the tree I was originally aiming at and spotted a tiny newborn tree about seventy feet away. I re-aimed the shuriken towards that tree and unleashed. At first, I thought the shuriken was going to chop it in half, but then it veered off course and instead cut it along the side. With the tree so small, the tiny cut was enough to set it off balance and send it crashing to the ground. "Not bad," said Kakashi. "Well, since you seem to have that down, we'll work on your first jutsu."

"My first what?" I asked.

"Jutsu. It utilizes the power of your inner energy. This 'inner energy' is better known as 'chakra'. Some jutsu will take a day to master, others will take a year. It all depends on the level of your chakra. But more importantly, it comes down to how hard you work at it. Well, enough with the lecture. It's time to learn your first jutsu. Beforehand, though, you need to learn about the other element for casting jutsu: hand signs. They are what focuses your chakra and molds it into the right shape to work a certain jutsu. There are twelve main signs and then countless others that are required to perform other, more powerful jutsu. But, we'll talk about those a bit later.

Right now, I'm going to show you the twelve main signs and their names." First, he folded his hands out in front. "This is called 'Snake'." Then, he maneuvered the sign and pointed it downward. He also stuck his pinkies out and pointed them downwards. "'Dragon.'" Then, he put his pinkies back in and spread his hands, keeping his fingers intertwined except for his indexes which were pointed diagonally inwards and whose tips were touching. "'Horse.'" He twisted his hands around and put his palms at ninety degree angles of each other. All of his left fingers were spread while his right middle and ring fingers were balled and the rest were spread. "'Ox.'"

He then took his left hand and balled it into a fist with the pinky sticking out. His right depicted a typical kindergartener gun symbol with the index-barrel pointed to his left. He set his left pinky between his right thumb and index. "'Rabbit,'" said Kakashi. He spread all of his fingers and flattened his hands horizontally with his palms facing each other. "'Monkey.'" He then remade the 'Snake' sign and outstretched his index and pinky fingers upward with the tips touching. "'Bird.'" He balled both hands into fists and put them together pointing downward. "'Boar.'" His right hand was kept into a fist which was redirected to point to the left. He put his flat right hand on top. "'Dog.'"

Then, he made the same sign that he used to teleport the two of us to the Hidden Leaf Village. "This one is called 'Ram.'" He balled his right hand into a fist and stuck out his index and middle knuckles. He wrapped his left hand around the knuckles and said, "'Rat.'" Finally, he made the 'Snake' sign and extended the index and middle fingers on both hands to point upward with the insides touching. "'Tiger'. And those are the twelve signs used to perform jutsu.

Now to your first jutsu. It's called the _Substitution_ _Jutsu_, and instead of explaining it, it would be better if I showed you." He made a bunch of signs so rapidly it was hard for me to make any of them out. Nothing seemed to happen. I began to wonder if he was just tricking me. He reached into a pouch strapped to his right leg and pulled out a kunai knife. He grabbed the blade and offered me the handle. I took it, wondering what was about to happen. "Now take the kunai and attack me," said Kakashi.

"You have lost your ever-loving mind," I decided.

"Trust me, I'll be fine."

"If you say so." I raised the kunai and prepared to strike. I expected to be parried but Kakashi didn't look too interested in defending himself. He just stood there, waiting for me to kill him. I swung the blade and slashed him across the stomach. My first thought was that I had been led into a trap and was going to be put away forever on murder charges. Then, suddenly, Kakashi was engulfed in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, a large log was lying on the ground with a large incision around the mid-section. I heard a noise in the bushes to my right and looked. Kakashi walked out, completely unharmed.

"That is the _Substitution Jutsu_. It replaces the user with a large object so the enemy thinks he's attacking you, giving the user time to rest or counterattack."

"That sounds like a pretty useful trick there," I stated.

"It is," said Kakashi. "It's a ninja's most basic technique. It can be used to save your life and throw you the match. Now, it's your turn. And I'm guessing watching me make the signs only made you dizzy, (which, by the way, was completely true) so I'll show them to you again, but much more slowly this time."

"That would be really helpful," I said.

"I imagine so. Now, do you remember the names of the signs and how to perform them?" he asked me.

"Um, more so than I could," I answered.

"Good, now the signs are Ram, Boar, Ox, Dog, Snake." He performed each sign as he said it. I mimicked the signs and said, "_Substitution Jutsu!_"

I felt something stirring inside me and suddenly I found myself somewhere in the forest. I saw a clearing near me and walked out of it. I saw Kakashi standing there along with…me! It was a clone of me, looking as confused as I felt. Kakashi put his fist in the clone's stomach and it was immersed in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, there was another log on the ground right next to the one Kakashi had switched with.

"That's just cool!" I said.

"Yes, and there are plenty more jutsu to learn. But be careful, lots of jutsu used in quick succession will drain your chakra and eventually kill you."

"That's a happy thought," I said.

"Indeed, well, moving on to the _Clone Jutsu_." He made more signs and said, "_Clone Jutsu!_" Another puff of smoke appeared next to Kakashi. When the smoke cleared, a clone of Kakashi was standing there. It was absolutely perfect. I couldn't even tell the difference between the two.

"N-No way," I said in awe. Kakashi threw a kunai to me and I caught it by the handle. "Now throw the kunai at the clone." That was probably not the best thing he could've said. I couldn't even hit a dart-board with a dart. I readied the knife and chucked it as hard as I could. At first, I thought the knife had run the clone through, but then I realized, the knife had passed straight through the clone and embedded itself in the tree behind it. Upon closer inspection, I looked at the ground and as the clone stepped back, I saw that he had left no footprints. There wasn't even a single blade of bent grass.

"You can't hit them!" I realized.

"That's right. And the only drawback to this jutsu is, they can't hit you."

"So? It still makes for a good distraction," I said.

"Hm, that's true. Alright, you try. The signs are Ram, Snake, Tiger. Understand?"

I nodded and made the hand signs. I focused my chakra and said, "_Clone Jutsu!_" A puff of smoke appeared beside me. When the smoke cleared, I chuckled in embarrassment. Laying there was a horrible copy of me. The features had a lighter shade than my own. It was also comprised of entirely straight lines. There wasn't a single curve to be seen. I could tell this _thing_ wasn't going to be distracting anyone.

"Release the jutsu with the Ram sign and say, '_Release_'," said Kakashi.

"Right." I made the Ram sign and said, "_Release!_"

The pathetic clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. "That was pretty darned good for a first try. Why don't you try it again?"

The fact that Kakashi wasn't completely embarrassed to have me as a student was a huge encouragement. I made the signs again and said, "_Clone Jutsu_." When the puff of smoke cleared, I couldn't help but smile a little. There were a few distinguished curves and the features were a little darker than last time.

"Well, now, no one can say you're not improving," said Kakashi.

I looked at him, and from what I could see behind his mask, it looked like he was smiling. I made the Ram sign and the clone disappeared. I made the three hand signs once more and focused my chakra to its full extent. "_Clone Jutsu!_" What came out of the smoke wasn't perfect, but it was still an improvement. All the curves were in the right places and the features were just a little bit lighter than they were supposed to be.

"Good job! I think just one more try should do the trick," Kakashi encouraged me.

I released the jutsu and tried again. This time, it was flawless. Perfect curves, perfect features. This clone was just right for a distraction. "Not bad. It takes most people at least six or seven tries to master this jutsu. You're progressing very quickly. I'm impressed. Now for a review. Let's see a _Substitution Jutsu_." I made the hand signs and found myself in the trees near Kakashi and the clone of myself. Kakashi struck the clone with a kunai and it reverted back to a log. I walked out and towards Kakashi who said, "Alright, now for the _Clone Jutsu_." So, I made the signs and cast the _Clone Jutsu_. Again, the clone was perfect.

"Alright, now let's see how proficient you are with the jutsu. Try to make two clones."

I figured that was probably asking quite a bit, but I made the signs and focused my chakra even more. One puff of smoke appeared and out of it appeared one clone. My shoulders sagged in disappointment.

"Hey, don't look so down. You did good. You're making a lot of progress. But, before your training's complete, we need to do one last thing," said Kakashi. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny slip of paper.

"Hold the paper and pour your chakra into it. That will determine what Nature Type you have. There are five main Nature Types. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning. They are used to perform extremely powerful ninjutsu. But a ninja only has one or two Nature Types, and these slips of paper will determine your main type.

"Now, if the paper catches on fire and burns, you have a Fire Nature Type, if it gets all wet and soggy, that means your Nature Type is Water. If the paper rips in half, you have a Wind Nature Type. If it crumbles to dust, you have an Earth Nature Type. If the paper crumples, your Nature Type is Lightning. Now, like I explained earlier, hold it and pour some of your chakra into it. It will react to the slightest trace of chakra."

I took the paper and held it in my hands and poured what little chakra I had into it. It didn't hit me until now just how tired I was. This whole jutsu thing was exhausting. It took about ten seconds, but finally, the paper caught fire and burned. I expected my hand to get scorched, so instinctively, I yelped and threw it aside. I was a little surprised the fire hadn't at least given me some minor burns. My hand was fine.

"Well then, that takes care of that. Your training is complete. But before you go, I want to give you something." He reached into a back pocket and pulled out a small scroll. "This scroll is filled with all kinds of fire jutsu. You master some of these, and you'll be almost unstoppable. Now, I'm going to show you where you're going to live from now on." I wasn't exactly pleased with that "from now on" part, but I knew if I went back home, I would just get killed by Mr. Daiichi.

Kakashi led me back to the village and to a two-story house set at the edge of the Leaf Village. "This is your new home. I'm sorry, but you won't be able to go back to your family," said Kakashi.

"Yeah," I said, "I know."

I walked in and saw that Kakashi had left. Right inside the doorway was a hallway. There were two doors on the right, two on the left and then one leading to what looked like a kitchen at the end of the hall. I went to the kitchen and found a stairway. I climbed it and found myself in another hallway with one room on the left, one on the right, and one at the end of the hallway to a bedroom. I went to the bedroom and crashed on the bed.


	3. Chapter 3: The Team

THE TEAM

I took out the scroll Kakashi gave me and studied it. The first jutsu in it was called the _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu_. I went back downstairs and out the back door from the kitchen. I looked back at the scroll and found the necessary hand signs. Snake, Ram, Dog, Boar, Horse, Tiger. I looked at the explanation of the jutsu. _Gather up the chakra at a point around your chest. Send it up through the throat and out of the mouth._

I made the signs and did just as the scroll said, gathering the chakra in my chest. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I sent the chakra up through my throat and out of my mouth. A tiny fireball, no bigger than my head came out of my mouth. I wondered if that was really what it was supposed to look like and looked back down to the scroll. In the animation for the jutsu, the fireball was about an inch bigger than the little stick figure who was using it. I studied the animation and calculated that the fireball would be about three feet bigger than me in real life. I faced the trees behind the house and made the hand signs again.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" The fireball was hardly any bigger than the last one. "Argh! _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" This time, it was about three inches bigger. But it still wasn't good enough. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" It was about an inch bigger. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" This time, it decreased in size by about six inches. I realized that was because I was running low on chakra. I was completely exhausted, I couldn't go on. The sun had gone down. I dropped to the ground and passed out.

I woke up the next morning in the bedroom. The scroll was on the table next to the bed. I tried to get up, but could barely move. I grabbed the scroll and headed outside anyways. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" This fireball was the biggest I had made so far. It was only a little smaller than me. When the fireball had cleared, there was smoke trailing from my mouth. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" This fireball was about half a foot bigger than me. _This is it!_ I thought, _This time, I _will _get it!_ I made the hand signs and wielded all of the chakra I had in me. I could feel it looking for an outlet. "_FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!_" I let the chakra out through my mouth in one, giant wave. The grass rippled with flames, trees were scorched. A couple of windows on the house shattered.

My calculations were off. This fireball was twice as big as my entire body. I let go of the jutsu and the fireball disappeared, leaving the grass around where it had been in flames. A huge grin spread across my face. I had done it! I had finally mastered the jutsu! I was panting heavily. My chakra was almost completely drained. My vision glazed over. I dropped to my knees and fell unconscious before I could even hit the ground. I woke up and found myself still on the ground. I got up and realized it hurt to move. I struggled to grab the scroll off of the ground. I staggered back inside and crashed on the couch in the living room.

I could hardly move at all from the pain. That was when I heard a knock on the door. I got up and staggered to the front door. I opened it and saw Kakashi standing there. I looked at what he was wearing. He was wearing a dark-blue, long-sleeved shirt with a green flak jacket it. He was also wearing dark-blue sweats. His mask was still the same, but instead of a sweatband over his eye, it was a band with a metal plate on it. In the center of the plate was an engraved symbol that looked like a leaf, but only if you looked at it the right way.

"Hi, Kakashi, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, with your training complete, I've come to announce the fact that you have officially become a ninja. And that means, you get a Leaf Headband. He held out his hand and I saw the same band with the plate that Kakashi was wearing over his eye.

"Um, thanks," I said tentatively. I took the headband and put it in my pocket.

"And, every ninja has missions that they must carry out. And you carry these missions out in squads of four. Three students and one sensei. The students, you, for example, are called genin, while the teacher, me, is called a jonin. The mission itself can be anything from babysitting to assassination. Although the latter probably won't happen until you're a jonin. Anyways, do you remember Lady Tsunade, the one we met when we arrived?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she's the leader of the Leaf Village called the Hokage. She is the one who calls the squads in for their missions, and she just called us in, so we need to go. Of course, she did make an exception for you if you don't want to come."

"No, I'll come," I said. The two of us went to the red mansion and into the Hokage's office.

"Oh, good, you're here, Kakashi," said Tsunade. Kakashi looked around and said, "Where are Naruto and Sakura?"

Now, I wasn't entirely positive what a 'Naruto' was, but I was pretty sure a Sakura was a cherry blossom. This made me a bit confused as to what he was talking about.

"They're at the Village Gate, waiting for you," Tsunade answered.

"So what's the mission," Kakashi asked.

"Well, normally I would assign this to someone else, what with you having a new, inexperienced member, but Naruto wouldn't let me, so I don't have much of a choice, but anyways, the mission. Sasuke Uchiha has been spotted near the Hidden Waterfall Village. The leader there has asked for us to subdue him in anyway possible. I would ask if you accept, but I'm pretty sure Naruto would go without you, so you will leave immediately. Is that understood?"

"Yes, m'lady," said Kakashi. The two of us walked out of the mansion and headed for the Leaf Village Gate. When we got there, two people were waiting. One of them was a guy with blond, spiky hair and was wearing an orange jacket with blue shoulders and white raised collar and entirely orange pants. He had a headband on his forehead. The other one was a girl who had pink hair with a headband keeping her bangs out of her eyes. She was wearing a red tank-top with a navy skirt.

"Matt, I'd like you to meet your new teammates: Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno."

"Hi," I said quietly.

"Hello," said Sakura.

"How's it going?" said Naruto. He held out his hand and I shook it.

"Alright," said Kakashi, "We head for the Hidden Waterfall Village now. It'll probably take a day to get there, and Sasuke's bound not to hang around, so let's get moving."

"Right," said Naruto Uzumaki. The four of us went out the gate and headed for…wherever the Hidden Waterfall Village was.

I walked up to Naruto and said, "Who's Sasuke?"

His expression turned to a sad grimace. "He was originally part of our squad, but he left the village and joined up with this freak named Orochimaru. Now, we've been doing everything in our power to get him back, but so far, nothing."

"Oh," I said, wondering what had happened to make this Sasuke do that. I decided to let it go and kept walking. The sun set in the horizon and Kakashi took off his back-pack.

"Alright, we'll rest here for the night and continue in the morning." He opened up the pack and took out a sleeping bag. He tossed it to me and then pulled out one for himself. I looked over and saw Naruto and Sakura were already setting up their sleeping bags. I opened it up and crawled inside. It took about two hours for me to get to sleep.

The next morning, I was the first to wake up. I rolled up my sleeping bag and went exploring. I found a small pond and made six hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" The fireball I blew out of my mouth was no smaller than the last one. When the flame cleared, steam was rising from the pond. It took about twenty seconds for the steam to evaporate. I was panting with exhaustion. I heard movement from behind me and turned around. Sakura was standing there, looking at me with her eyes wide.

"Sasuke knew that jutsu too," she told me.

"Seriously?" I asked, still panting.

"Yeah. He told us it was one of the first jutsu he learned.

"Yeah, same here," I said, finally getting my breath back.

"Do you know any others?" she asked.

"Yeah, _Substitution _and _Clone_. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm not really good at anything in particular. Just _Clone Jutsu_ really, but I'm working on medical ninjutsu."

"Healing people and stuff?" I guessed.

"Uh-huh, but I'm not all that good at it. The Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade, she's much better at it than I am. She's teaching it to me, so I have high hopes of getting better."

"What's the Hokage like?" I asked.

"Well, if you're receiving training from her, you'll think she's a slave-driver first time around, but she's really not. She just really wants her students to succeed. You know, if you want, I bet I could teach you, or if you'd prefer, I might even be able to get Lady Tsunade herself to teach you. Would you like that?"

"I don't know, my head's still spinning from everything I've learned up to now. Maybe eventually I would, but for now, I'll stick with _Fire Style_," I said.

"Oh, okay, I understand," she said with a smile.

More movement echoed through the trees. We turned around and saw Kakashi and Naruto walking towards us.

"You two ready?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah," I answered. After another hour of walking, we came up on a waterfall. A waterfall? Ha! It wouldn't have surprised me if New York City was hidden in there. It was about fifty feet wide, and I couldn't even see the top. It rose straight into the clouds. Water just pourin' from the heavens.

"That is a big waterfall," I deducted.

"Yeah, and in it lies the Hidden Waterfall Village," said Kakashi.

"So, what, we just waltz in and start looking?" I said.

"Pretty much, but first, we have to go meet with the leader of the village," said Kakashi.

The four of us proceeded into the waterfall. In it was a cave with a small pond near the back.

"Wow, this is a really impressive village," I said sarcastically.

"You have to access the village from the pond," said Kakashi.

"Oh. I knew that," I said, very embarrassed. The four of us walked up to the pond. "Sakura, since Matt can't swim as fast as us, you take him with you as fast as you can. Understood?"

"Right," said Sakura.

"Are you ready?" she asked me.

"Probably not, but I'll give it a shot," I said worriedly.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine with me," she assured me with a smile.

She grabbed my arm and the four of us jumped in. All three of them were extremely fast swimmers. There were several times where I was afraid Sakura was going to accidentally let go of me and I would be lost in the current. In about a minute, we came out and washed up on a beach. There was a small village situated on the shore. Every building was made of logs. At that moment, I decided living in a place like this wouldn't be that bad.


	4. Chapter 4: Attack

ATTACK

Naruto and Sakura were following Kakashi into the village and I ran to catch up. We stopped in front of a relatively larger wooden house. Kakashi knocked on the front door and the four of us waited. The door opened to a man with long, brown hair to his waist. He had a plated headband on his forehead as well. Instead of a leaf on the plate, it was like the cliffs on either side of a waterfall.

"Lord Shibuki. It's an honor to see you again," said Kakashi respectfully.

"Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno. The pleasure's all mine," said the one known as Shibuki.

Then, his eyes rested on me. "And who might this be?" he asked.

"This is Matt Withau. He's a new genin," Kakashi answered.

Shibuki held out his hand and I shook it. "Good to meet you," he said. "But now, it's time for business. Sasuke Uchiha has been located somewhere in the Great Tree." His gaze shifted to a massive tree on the other shore of the lake we came out from. "We don't know what he's up to, but his presence here is very discomforting for the villagers and I. I'm not saying kill him, I just want him out of here as quickly as possible. Okay?"

"Understood," said Kakashi. He turned around and addressed us. "I will search the Great Tree. Sakura, you search the land beyond it. Naruto, you and Matt will search for signs of trouble in the village. Understood?"

"Yes," said Sakura,

"Right," said Naruto.

"Uh, sure," I said.

I followed Naruto through the Waterfall Village in search of Sasuke. Considering I had never seen him before, I wasn't sure what I was looking for. I was just hoping we weren't the ones to find him. We searched every street in the village, and after about three hours, we concluded that he wasn't here. Kakashi called in through a communicator on Naruto's neck and told us to meet at the shore. About five minutes later, we all concluded that we had found absolutely nothing and headed back to the Leaf Village. The next day, we saw the Leaf on the horizon and I was relieved to finally be able to sleep in a relatively descent bed, even if it wasn't my own.

Instead of letting us do what we wanted, Kakashi told us to go to Lady Tsunade's mansion to receive payment. That struck me. I was not aware we got paid for missions. I immediately wondered how much we were talking here. In her mansion, Tsunade grabbed a large wad of money and divided it into four even piles.

"This was an A-Rank mission, the second-toughest of them all, so you each earned one thousand dollars. Do with it what you will."

We each grabbed our money. I was really starting to love this place. I had never had so much money in my entire life. I put it in my wallet and headed back to my house.

It was still about five o' clock in the afternoon, so I grabbed my _Fire Style_ scroll and laid it out on the bed to examine it. The second jutsu on it was called the _Fire Style: Dragon Darts_. _'Build up chakra in a point near your chest and release it in several small bursts one after the other.' _

"Hm, wonder how long it will take to master this one," I said to myself.

I went out into the back yard and examined the scroll again. Ox, Dragon, Boar, Horse, Ram, Tiger. Those were the signs needed to perform the _Fire Style: Dragon Darts_. I made the hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I built up chakra in my chest, same as the _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu_, and released in small bursts, one after the other. This definitely wasn't the easiest jutsu I had tried to learn so far. The bursts I released were almost as big as me, so I could only make three. The little animation for the jutsu showed the guy blowing out about twenty tiny fireballs. I also took notice that the fireballs were vaguely shaped like darts, hence the name, _Dragon _Darts. I looked back to the yard in front of me and saw that what I had made so far actually wasn't so bad. I had scorched about half the yard. Still, I wanted to completely master the jutsu.

I made the hand signs and gathered the chakra in my chest. "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I managed to release it in smaller bursts and more numerously, but only five times. Although, the yard looked pretty bad with all of the craters and burn marks in it.

"Hey, Matt!" I turned around and saw Naruto on the roof of my house.

"Yeah, what is it?" I asked.

"There's a new mission for us. I came to get you."

"Oh, alright, I'm coming." I grabbed my _Fire Style_ scroll, took one last look at the destroyed yard, and followed Naruto to the Hokage mansion.

"Normally, I would send Shikamaru to do this, but he's off on other business," said Lady Tsunade. "This is a B-Rank mission. I need you to go to all of our allied villages and tab how many from each village will be attending the Chunin Selection Exams. Simple enough in my opinion, but this is important so you never know what kind of resistance you'll come up with. The Exams will be starting three months from today, so we need those tabs as soon as possible. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." said Kakashi. We left the Leaf Village and headed for other villages.

"So, how many villages are we visiting here?" I asked.

"Well, there are twelve Hidden Villages in all; we are allied with seven of them. In short, we'll be gone for a couple of weeks. And it's like Lady Tsunade said; this is important, so you never know when one of our enemies will attack us and try to make this information not get back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The first village we're headed for is the Village Hidden in the Mist. It's located on a remote island, so we'll have to approach it by bridge. There aren't very many Genin left in that village, so there shouldn't be very many attending the Exams."

We walked for the rest of the day until nighttime. We set up the sleeping bags and went to sleep for the rest of the night. When I heard three sets of snores, I got out of my sleeping bag and headed into the woods. I found a large lake and took out the _Fire Style_ scroll. "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts_." This time, I could do eight bursts. "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" Ten bursts. I could tell I only had enough chakra left to cast the jutsu one more time. I made the hand signs. "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" They all came out like ballistic missiles. Twenty of them easy came out and crashed into the water, leaving it's surface steaming and rippling. I smiled at what I had done.

I grabbed the _Fire Style_ scroll, staggered back to the campsite, and crashed in my sleeping bag. The next morning, I woke up and packed up my sleeping bag. The four of us kept walking until we hit the ocean shore. There was a humongous bridge that led from here all the way out to across the ocean. It took about a half-hour for us to cross it, but when we finally did, we were in a small village.

Kakashi led us through the village to a large mansion in the center. Kakashi knocked and someone answered. It was a woman in her thirties, with long, auburn hair down to her waist, and wore a dark-blue dress that fell to just below her knees.

"Lord Mizukage," Kakashi bowed respectfully. The three of us followed his lead and bowed.

"Oh, hello there," she said with a pleasant smile. "You must be the Leaf Village Ninja coming to tab Chunin Exam participants. There will be fifteen genin in all attending. I know you probably need to be going, but please, feel free to explore the village, refill on supplies. You are always welcome here. However, I suggest you be careful. Zabuza Momochi's associates, Meizu and Gouzu, are lurking around the village. If you see them on your way out, I would consider it a personal favor if you could round them up and bring them to me," the woman asked politely.

"Of course," said Kakashi.

When we were out of earshot of the Mizu…whatever, I asked Kakashi, "Who was she talking about?"

"The Demon Brothers, Meizu and Gouzu. We had a little run-in with them a while back. Apparently they're out and about again. If we encounter them, you need to stay back and let the three of us handle it. You may know some pretty powerful jutsu, but these guys are nothing to sneeze at. I don't think they'll show up with me around, but you never know."

We were almost out of the village, right when I thought we were in the clear when it happened. A kunai knife came down from a nearby building and stopped us in our tracks. We looked to the building where it came from and saw two mysterious figures staring down at us. I looked closer and saw that they were two men, each with long black cloaks. They also had masks covering there faces and headbands on their foreheads. The two of them jumped down from the building they were standing on.

"Kakashi Hatake," one of them said. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yes, I really didn't expect to see the two of you again any time soon. Are you here to be thrown back in jail?"

"KAKASHI, LOOK OUT!" I screamed.

One of them had appeared behind him with his fist at the ready. But it wasn't a fist. On his hand was a set of claws that looked very sharp. I looked back to where the other two were and saw that there were indeed two there. Just then, water had splashed all over me. I looked back to where the other one had attacked Kakashi and saw that it had disappeared. I realized then that it must have been a clone made of water. The other two charged with their clawed hands ready. One of them came at Kakashi while the other charged me.

I remembered what Kakashi had said about leaving these two to them, but if I did that, I was going to get killed. No one was paying me a second look. I made six hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" The guy jumped the fireball and barreled down towards me with his claw ready to slash. I made six more had signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He was caught completely off-guard. The fireball hit him head-on and incinerated him. "Ha, ha, alright!" I said in triumph. And that was when I noticed what was behind me.

Suddenly, a horrible pain ripped its way across my back as he slashed me with his claws. I dropped to my knees and then the ground. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Suddenly, seven Narutos attacked my attacker and began pounding him. When six of the Narutos disappeared in puffs of smoke, the one who had attacked me was unconscious. Then, the other guy went flying passed me and crashed into a tree. Kakashi was standing there with his fist outstretched. The three of them ran over to me to see if I was okay. And apparently, I wasn't, because they started wondering where a hospital was around here.

"I'll…be fine-argh!" I grasped my side, feeling blood spilling across my hand.

"No," said Kakashi. "Those two have poison on their claws. It spreads quickly, so we need to get you to a hospital as quickly as possible."

"Great," I said quietly. I was becoming more and more exhausted by the second. I guessed this was the effect of the poison.

"Sakura, do you think you can patch him up for now?" Kakashi asked.

She shook her head and said, "Mm-mm. I haven't learned about poisons yet."

At these words, I lost consciousness.


	5. Chapter 5: Global Trek

GLOBAL TREK

I woke up in a bed inside some building. I looked to the side and saw Kakashi sitting there, watching me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I think so," I answered. I felt several lengths of stitches running across my back. "The poison?" I asked Kakashi.

"It's been taken out."

"How long will I be here?" I asked.

"For a couple of weeks at least," Kakashi answered.

"Great. What are you gonna do in the meantime?"

"Just hang out. Wait for you to recover."

And so, the days passed. It was long and boring. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura kept talking about more possible attacks. I didn't really listen to what they were saying. I didn't care. Finally, when a month had passed, I was released from the hospital. We crossed the giant bridge, which I learned was the Great Naruto Bridge, back to the mainland.

"Where are we going next?" I asked Kakashi.

"To the Village Hidden in the Clouds," Kakashi answered.

Two days later, we were in the Hidden Cloud Village. We met with the Raikage, who was a tall, dark-skinned man, with a few wrinkles, slicked-back gray hair, and a small moustache and goatee. He told us that there would be thirty-three genin attending the Chunin Exams. Now, we were headed back to the Hidden Waterfall Village. When we got there, Shibuki told us there would be twelve genin attending the Chunin Exams. We went to the Hidden Grass Village. The village leader there told us that there would be twenty-one genin participating in the Exams.

Oh, I guess I should explain the whole leader thing. The way Kakashi put it, there are five Kages, the single form of which means shadow. There was the Hokage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage, Raikage, and Mizukage. Only the Five Great Nations, the Land of Fire, the Land of Water, the Land of Lightning, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth had a Kage. Within each country was a Hidden Village. The Hokage within the Hidden Leaf Village within the Land of Fire. The Kazekage within the Hidden Sand Village within the Land of Wind. The Mizukage within the Hidden Mist Village within the Land of Water. The Raikage within the Hidden Cloud Village within the Land of Lightning. And the Tsuchikage within the Hidden Stone Village within the Land of Earth. All the rest, like the Hidden Waterfall and Grass Villages, were simply known as Village Leaders.

Anyways, now we were on our way to the Hidden Stone Village. The Tsuchikage was a short, old man of about eighty-seven. He informed us that eighteen genin would be attending the exams. At the Hidden Rain Village, instead of the leader of the village, a messenger was sent to inform us that nine genin would be attending the exams.

"What's with that?" I asked Kakashi later.

"Many assassination attempts have been performed on the Village Leader. Because of that, he never shows himself, not even to his own village."

"I…guess that makes sense," I said sincerely.

"Yes, well, anyways, on to the Village Hidden in the Sand."

We got there and knocked on the door to the Kazekage's mansion. The door opened and Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi did a double-take. It was a guy about thirteen, same age as Naruto and Sakura. I figured that was why they did a double-take, but apparently I figured wrong.

"G-Gaara!" said Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Long time no see," said Gaara.

"H-How on earth did you become Kazekage?" Naruto asked, still in shock.

"Not with ease." This Gaara figure had a very deep voice that made him sound much older than he was. "It's a long story, but I have you to thank for it," he said. Naruto looked stunned.

Eventually, he smiled and said, "Well I'm happy for ya'. You're on the road to respect and no longer feeling the pain of loneliness." Naruto held out his hand and Gaara shook it hesitantly.

"Thank you, Naruto Uzumaki. But, anyways, there will be six genin attending the exams."

"Yes, thank you. This is the last village we have to check with, so we'll be on our way back to the Hidden Leaf Village," said Kakashi.

"Yes, well, be safe on your journey," said Gaara.

"We will, thank you," said Kakashi. The four of us left the Sand Village for the Leaf Village.

"Wow, that's incredible," said Naruto. "I seriously can't believe he's the Kazekage."

"It is incredible, considering who he was last time around," agreed Kakashi.

"And who was that?" I asked.

"A bloodthirsty, maniacal killer," Kakashi answered.

"A bloodthirsty, maniacal killer became leader of the village?" I said.

"Well, he used to be, until Naruto fought him and changed him," said Sakura.

"O…kay then," I said, deciding to drop the subject.

It was another day before we reached the Hidden Leaf Village. When we did, we went to Tsunade's mansion to report on the mission. "In all, there will be one-hundred and fourteen foreigners attending the Chunin Exams," Kakashi reported. He told her the exact amount from each village.

"And? Were there any attacks?" she asked.

"Yes, one. In the Hidden Mist Village. The associates of Zabuza Momochi, Meizu and Gouzu. They have been apprehended and turned in to the Mizukage," said Kakashi.

"Well, that's one headache out of the way," Tsunade sighed.

"Indeed," Kakashi agreed.

"Were there any injuries?" Tsunade asked.

Kakashi looked hesitant to answer this. Finally, he said, "Uh, um, yeah, one. Matt was poisoned and treated in the Hidden Mist Hospital."

Tsunade did not look happy about this. She rounded on me, making me step back a little. "Matt, would you like to be looked at in the Hidden Leaf Hospital?" she asked.

"Uh, no, thank you. I'm fine," I answered. Judging by the look on Tsunade's face, I was pretty sure I was going back to the hospital regardless.

"Let me see the wound," she said to me. It was kind of embarrassing to have my shirt off right in front of everyone, but I knew better than to argue, even if I didn't know the Fifth Hokage very well. I took my shirt off and turned my back to Tsunade.

"Oh my," said her assistant, whose name Kakashi had previously told me was Shizune.

"Those are some nasty scars," said Tsunade. "Matt, go to the hospital and make sure you're not infected, on my orders," said Tsunade.

I sighed and said, "Yes ma'am."

A month in the Hidden Mist Hospital was enough for me. However, I had seen those scars, and they definitely weren't the prettiest I had ever come across. It was when I left Tsunade's Mansion that I realized it; I had no idea where the Hidden Leaf Hospital even was. I searched every street until I finally found it near the northern edge of the village. I asked the doctors to check me up. I made it very clear that it was on Lady Tsunade's orders. Because of this, they immediately took me in and looked at the scars. It turned out there was an infection in the scars. It wasn't big, but it was still enough to earn me an overnight stay in the hospital. When the infection was gone and I was released, Sakura came by my house to give me payment from the mission.

But there was also another reason why she was here, the very thing I had been concerned about for a while now. "Matt, Kakashi-sensei has recommended Naruto and I for the Chunin Exams. Now, normally, the entire squad has to participate in order for anyone to participate. However, Kakashi-sensei and Lady Tsunade have made a loophole for you, so if you don't want to participate, it won't effect our eligibility. You don't have to make your decision now, the Exams are exactly seven days from today. Oh, I felt it would also be wise to let you know that if you don't participate, absolutely no one will frown on you. So, the decision is entirely yours. Missions have been cut off for genin in order to prepare, so you'll have a little bit of time to get ready if you do want to participate. Well, if not before then, I'll see you at the Chunin Exams," and she left.

It took about three seconds for me to make up my mind. If I was going to be a shinobi, I might as well do it right. And the first step to that was to get the proper tools. And so, I found a weapons shop and browsed about the items to purchase. There was a sale in order to help give genin participating in the Chunin Exams some last-minute preparation. I bought five kunai, ten shuriken, and three paper-bombs, which, as the name suggests, were bombs made of paper that went off after a time-delay upon being set. I also grabbed some weapon pouches and paid the man forty-five dollars for the supplies. I went back home and made sure I was up to par with the kunai and shuriken.

Afterwards, I grabbed the Fire Style scroll and looked at the third jutsu. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" This was a stronger version of the Fire Style: Dragon Darts. The only differences were that the tiny fireballs weren't shaped like darts, and you had to release the chakra in larger bursts. It wasn't hard after the Dragon Darts, but I wasn't perfect at it. It took several tries within two hours for me to have the jutsu down. At that point, I went over all the jutsu I had learned. Substitution Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, Fire Style: Dragon Darts, and Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu.

I figured it wasn't that bad a line-up, but there was still room for at least one or two more jutsu to learn. The next jutsu, as I would soon learn, was the hardest jutsu I had tried to learn so far. It was called the Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu. It took four hand signs and a massive amount of chakra. I weaved the signs, called out the name of the jutsu, and barely managed a spark. I figured that was pretty embarrassing considering I wielded Fire Style effortlessly. However, I was not going to let one jutsu stop me from becoming a chunin. That was when it struck me, I didn't even know what a chunin was!

I found Kakashi and asked. "A chunin is a step up from genin in ninja ranks. At this level, you will be asked to carry out much more difficult missions than a genin. Although, judging by this little conversation, I take it you've decided to sign up for the Chunin Exams?"

"Y-Yeah," I said, not sure if that was the wisest of answers. From what I could see, Kakashi's face took on a stern expression.

"Are you sure this is wise? You are a newly elected genin. The Exams can break a person like you." Then, suddenly, his face broke into a grin. "Actually, Matt, I couldn't be more proud of you." I was absolutely speechless. "Most people with your experience would never take the exams. You definitely have guts, maybe more so than even Naruto. I wish you the best of luck. I am truly proud to be your teacher! However, heed my warning. Use caution when taking the Exams. I can guarantee you these are absolutely nothing like the exams you used to take back at your Middle School."

That last juicy little piece of information was one he need not have bothered wasting his breath on. For one thing, in regular school, you didn't wield super-powerful jutsu to reduce your opponent to a crisp. Second of all, you didn't have a bunch of people from different villages coming to participate. No. This definitely was not going to be even remotely like the exams back home.


	6. Chapter 6: The Chunin Exams Begin

THE CHUNIN EXAMS BEGIN

I went back home and started back on the _Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu_. The week passed and I still didn't have the jutsu down. Although, no one could say I wasn't improving. I had streams of flame going as big as me. But the animation for the jutsu showed enough fire to charbroil a small building in one fell swoop. I looked back at the scroll and discovered a hint as to why I was having so much trouble for the jutsu. In the explanation, it said the jutsu worked better on a long wire, like a tripwire or something. Now that I thought about it, I had seen some tripwire on sale at the weapons shop. Although how I was going to get into a position where I could get an opponent using the wire was beyond me. I stashed the scroll in my room and headed for the Leaf Village Ninja Academy to register.

There was a long line of people waiting to register. Most of them had foreign headbands. Which reminds me, about the headbands, each village has its own headband with a different symbol on it. This was the symbol of said village. I had decided putting mine on my forehead looked really stupid, so I decided to tie it loosely around my neck. I looked up and down the line and recognized some Hidden Waterfall headbands. I was wondering what kind of jutsu these guys could perform when my name was called. Sakura and Naruto were running over to me.

"Oh, hi," I said.

"What's up?" said Naruto, "I see you decided to take the exams then? I'm actually kind of impressed."

"Thanks, I think," I said.

"Well, anyways, it's time to register for the Chunin Exams, so let's go," said Sakura.

It took about a half-hour, but when we finally registered, we were told to go to classroom 303 on the third floor. We got there and saw most of the other participants were already waiting. One Leaf Ninja caught my eye. He had long, brown hair down to his waist. He was wearing a white shirt and gray shorts. What really got me were his eyes. Lavender and pupil-less. That threw me a very clear sign that this was no one to mess with. There was another Leaf who had a small white dog perched on top of his head. I wondered to myself how that was even allowed. But apparently it was, because no one ever said anything about it.

About a half hour later, a large puff of smoke engulfed the front end of the room. When the smoke cleared, there were a dozen people standing there. The one in the center had a black overcoat and instead of a headband, he had a bandanna on his head with a metal plate on it baring the Leaf Village symbol. "It's time to begin," he said. "I am Ibiki Morino, your proctor; and from this moment, your worst enemy. However, before we begin the exams, I will say this once. There will be no combat between candidates. No attacking each other without the permission of your proctor, and even then, the use of fatal force is strictly prohibited. Anyone who even thinks of messing with me will be disqualified immediately. Got it?"

Silence followed his words. "Now, if we're ready, we'll proceed to the first stage of the Chunin Exams. Hand over the paperwork you received with registration. In return, you will each be given a number," he held up a slip of paper with the number _1_ on it. "This number determines where you will sit. We'll start the written test once you're all seated."

_Written test?_ On what? I sincerely hoped it wasn't related to anything on being a ninja. Because if it was, I was sunk. I knew hardly anything about the ninja world. I handed over my paperwork and received the number _66_. I looked up and down the rows for my seat. It didn't strike me until now just how big this classroom was. I finally found my seat and sat down. Naruto was a few rows in front of me. I looked to my right and saw Sakura sitting several seats away. She was looking scared, but determined.

Ibiki spoke again. "Everyone, eyes front. There are a few rules you need to be aware of. And I won't answer any questions, so you'd better pay attention the first time around. Alright, rule number one is this: the written part of the exam is conducted on a point-reduction system. Contrary to what some of you may be used to, you all begin the test with a perfect score of ten points. One point will be deducted for each answer you get wrong. So, if you miss three, your final score will be seven. Rule number two: teams will pass or fail based on the scores of all three members."

_Oh, that's just wonderful. When I go down, Sakura and Naruto will go down with me,_ I thought to myself.

"Rule number three: the sentinels you see positioned around the room are there to watch you carefully for any signs of cheating." The people who had come with him had sat in chairs all around the room. "And for every incident they spot, they will subtract two points from the culprit's score." This was a rule I found rather odd. Normally, the first sign of cheating was grounds for immediate dismissal right then and there. "Be warned; their eyes are extremely sharp, and if they catch you five times, you will be dismissed before the tests are even scored."

_Man, there sure are a lot of ways to lose points,_ I thought to myself. "Anyone fool enough to be caught cheating by the sentinels doesn't deserve to be here. If you want to be considered shinobi, then show us…what exceptional shinobi you can be."

_Okay then, I screw up and not only will I fail, but so will Sakura and Naruto. Well, looks like I'll just have to rely on them._ _Let's hope they can get a lot of the questions right._

"One more thing, if any candidate should get a zero and fail the test, then the entire team fails."

My head drooped and landed on the table, hard. _We are so screwed over. _

"The final question won't be given out until fifteen minutes before the end of the testing period. You'll have one hour total." The tests were passed out and the exam began. My eyes shifted over the _kanji_ and stopped at number two.

_Line B in the diagram indicates the trajectory of a shuriken thrown at enemy C by ninja A seated atop a tree seven meters tall. Describe and formulate the trajectory required if C were positioned at points D, E, and F. Also predict the farthest possible range of the shuriken and explain how you arrived at your answer._ All I could think to say was, _What?_ I hadn't learned about trajectory! This was impossible for me! I looked to my right a little to see how many other people were actually writing. _What the?_ There were mirrors attached to the ceiling with kunai knives that were trained on other people's papers. Something shiny was trailing down from the mirrors and into the seats. I couldn't see who was controlling them, all I could say was, _How is that not completely obvious?_ That was when I realized that I could see the answers on the other kid's paper!

I looked up every now and then and copied the kid's answers. When I was done, I had five out of nine answers filled out. I heard one of the sentinels write on his clipboard. _Someone just got busted,_ I thought to myself. I looked over towards the sentinel and my heart skipped a beat. The sentinel was looking directly at me. The wicked grin that had spread across his face made it quite clear who he had nailed. _Whoops!_ I wouldn't be doing that again. That left me with, at the most, four points. Not good! I looked around the room and began to witness more signs of cheating.

Eventually, teams were being dismissed due to cheating. The small white dog was yipping quietly to its master. It didn't take me too long to figure out what he was saying. And, apparently, the genin understood him perfectly, because eventually, he said, "Good boy, yeah, that'll do it." Finally, there were only fifteen minutes left of the class. Ibiki had realized this too, because he spoke once more. "Alright, listen up. Here's the tenth and final question. But, before I give you the question, there are some more rules that you need to be aware of. These rules are unique to question ten. Listen carefully, and try not to let them frighten you."

_That's not weird at all,_ I thought sarcastically.

"Very well then, rule number one: each of you is free to choose not to be given the final question. It's your decision."

"Wait, what? What's the catch?" I asked.

"If you choose not to take the tenth question, regardless of your answers to the other nine, you'll get a zero. In other words, you fail. And that means, of course, both your teammates fail as well."

A lot of murmur broke out at this. "Not so fast, you didn't let me finish," said Ibiki. "If you do accept the question, but answer it incorrectly, not only will you fail, _you will be barred from taking the Chunin Exams ever again!_"

Now, I didn't know much about the ninja world, but I figured being a genin for the rest of your life was really bad on the reputation.

"Now then, if you're ready, the tenth and final question. Those who don't want to take it, raise your hand. Your number will be recorded and you will be free to go." It took several long minutes, but hands were raised and people were dismissed in teams. By the time the last hand had been raised for the moment, around fifty people had left. There was a moment there where I had seriously considered raising my hand. It didn't matter to me rather I became a chunin or not, but I knew it did for Sakura and Naruto, and neither of them seemed to be wanting to raise their hands. My hand was lifted about two inches off of the desk, but I almost immediately put it back down. If Naruto and Sakura wanted to risk everything, that was up to them.

Ibiki looked around, no doubt to make sure there was nobody else who was going to raise their hand. Finally, he said, "Now then, for those of you remaining, there's only one thing left to do. And that's for me to tell you…_that you've all passed the first exam._"

It took me almost a whole minute to grasp the concept of what had just happened. We had passed? Just like that? There had to be more to it. "So, you mean, like, we move on to the next exam, just like that?" I asked.

"That's right," said Ibiki.

"Well then, what was the point of the other nine questions anyways?"

"The point was to see how well you could gather information."

I was completely lost. "So, you mean, the whole point was to cheat and not get caught?" Ibiki nodded. I could only stare in awe. But then, another question came to me. "So, what was with the whole tenth question thing when there never was a question?" Ibiki smiled.

"Oh, there most certainly was a tenth question. Your decision to stay was the answer. And for that, I grant you passage on to the next exam." I must have still looked confused, because Ibiki spoke again. "Let me give you a hypothetical mission: to steal a document from an enemy stronghold. You have no idea how many ninja the enemy has, or how heavily armed they are. Furthermore, you have reason to believe that the enemy expects you, that you might very well be walking blindly into a trap. Now, do you have the option of taking a pass on this insane mission, of saying my comrades and I would live to fight another day? Can you choose to avoid danger? No! There will be many missions that will seem almost suicidal if you think about it, but you do not think about it! You think only of the goal and of achieving it through courage and discipline. These are the qualities required of a chunin squad leader.

"Those who choose the safer of two paths, those whose determination falters in the face of adversity, those who would put there comrades' lives in jeopardy by worrying about their own, those who would save there own necks at the price of sacred honor will never be able to call themselves chunin, at least as long as I'm here. As for the rest of you, you have successfully answered the ten questions I've put to you. You have earned the right to continue on to the next step. You have passed through the first gate. I hereby declare this part of the Chunin Exam completed. There's nothing left, but to wish you all good luck."

Then, with a heart-stopping crash, something spherical busted in through the window in front of Ibiki. It was a maroon ball made of fabric. Kunai were thrown to the upper corners of the room with corners of the fabric attached. In the ball of fabric was concealed a woman a little younger than Ibiki, now fully revealed. "Heads up, boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating. I'll be your next proctor: Anko Mitarashi. You ready for the second test?"


	7. Chapter 7: The Forest of Death

THE FOREST OF DEATH

"You ready for the second test? Good! Follow me!"

Complete and utter silence followed her words. Ibiki poked his head out from her length of fabric attached to the walls and said, "Your early…again." She blushed and looked very awkward.

_Ma. Ni. Ac,_ I thought to myself.

She had long, purple hair tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing a dull yellow jacket and her headband on her forehead. The fabric she had attached to the wall said _Here comes the Second Test's proctor: Anko Mitarashi_. "Well, it seems you've gone back to your old ways, Ibiki," she said. Indeed, out of the approximate one-hundred and fifty people who had signed up for the Chunin Exams, there were only about fifty left. "Well, it looks like they're not gonna stand a chance against the Second Exam." This was a real confidence booster. The Second Exam hadn't even started yet and she was telling us we were already going to fail? Then, she rounded on us. "Ha! This is gonna be fun. Alright, you maggots have had it easy so far, but…things are gonna be different starting first thing in the morning. I'll let your squad leaders know where you're to meet me. Dismissed."

We were in front of a large forest completely surrounded by a fence. "This is the location for the second phase of the exam," said Anko. "It's the 44th Battle Training Zone. But we call it…the Forest of Death. Now, before we begin the test, I have something to hand out to you all." She reached into her jacket and pulled out a large stack of papers. "It's just a standard consent form. Before we begin the test, all of you are going to have to read over this form, and then sign it."

"And why's that?" I asked.

"Some of you might not come back from this test, and I have to get your consent to that risk. Otherwise, it'd be my responsibility. Now, I'll explain what you'll be doing. Here, pass these out." She handed me the consent forms. I took one and passed them on. "The first thing you need to know is that this will test every one of your survival skills. First, I'll give you all a description of the terrain on the practice field. The 44th Battle Training Zone has forty-four locked entrance gates. There are rivers and a forest inside. In the center is a locked tower located ten kilometers from each gate. It's in this confined area that you'll undergo the survival test. The test consists of…anything goes battle to get your hands on these scrolls."

She reached back into her jacket and pulled out two scrolls. One of them was white with the _kanji_ for heaven on it while the other one was white on the inside and black on the outside baring the _kanji_ for earth. "Both of them?" I asked.

"Yes, you'll be fighting to get both a heaven scroll and an earth scroll. Altogether, twenty-one teams will be taking part in this test, so half of those teams will be going after the heaven scroll and the other half will be trying to get the earth scroll. I'll hand over one kind of scroll to each team. And that's what you'll be vying for."

"Okay, so how do we pass the test?" I asked.

"Your entire squad must bring both a heaven and an earth scroll to the tower."

"Well, if that's the case, then, at best, half of us will pass. Those are pretty sticky odds if you ask me," I said.

"No one ever said it would be easy," said Anko. "Oh, and one more thing, the test has a time limit. You must finish it within five days."

"F-Five days?" I said, startled.

"This test measures endurance behind enemy lines. This is designed to be a grueling test, and I'm sure some of you won't be up to the challenge. There are also some ways you can get disqualified. The first is simple: if all three members of a team can't make it to the tower with both scrolls in five days. Number two: if a team loses a member, or if a member becomes incapacitated and cannot continue. But most important, none of you, absolutely none of you may look at the contents of the scrolls until you've reached the tower. There are times when a ninja will asked to carry secret documents. The scroll rule is to test your integrity. Okay, we're done. Each team take your forms and exchange them over there for your scrolls."

She pointed to a stand with three ninja sitting in it. "After that, each team is to pick a gate, and you'll be led inside." She sighed and said, "Oh, and I have one more word of advice: just don't die!"

The ninja in the stand pulled curtains closed before handing out scrolls. I realized this was for two reasons. So nobody knew which scroll a team had or which member was carrying it. One of the ninja peeked out from the curtain and said, "Alright, everyone. We're gonna start handing out scrolls." Several teams had gone before us, but by the time we went in, we had received the heaven scroll.

When everyone had received their scrolls, Anko spoke. "Listen up, everybody go to your gate and wait there. When the gates open, the test is on!" The three of us were at gate 13. The gates were opened and the three of us proceeded into the Forest of Death. We took about five steps before we were confronted. Three ninja rained down from the trees to face us. They were a few years older than us, but didn't look that strong. I looked at their headbands, but I couldn't tell what village they were from. The symbol had four vertical lines all right next to each other. "Hidden Rain Ninja," said Sakura.

"Yes, and we're going to take your scroll here and now," said the guy in the center.

"Just try it," said Naruto.

I couldn't help but feel this wasn't going to be too hard. I made six hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I spat the giant fireball. The ninja jumped it and barreled through the air. I took out a shuriken and tossed it at one of them. He whipped out a kunai and blocked the shuriken. I made six more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired twenty dart-shaped fireballs at the ninja. The fireballs barbecued two of them, but the third just barely managed not to get hit. I figured we had him beat until I felt a kunai against my throat. Where the two genin had dropped to the ground there were only puddles of water.

The guy's eyes widened. "Ugh, Uh, Uuugh." his kunai dropped to the ground and he fell on top of me. I ducked out of the way and he hit the ground. There were several kunai and shuriken in his back. He was still breathing, but they were sharp, painful gasps. Several shuriken shot out of the trees towards me. I raised my arms up to cover my face, waiting for the weapons to hit, but they didn't. I opened my eyes and saw Naruto standing there facing me. Blood was trickling down his mouth. I could only stare. My comrade was about to die because I couldn't dodge some shuriken. That was until he disappeared in a puff of smoke. I distinctly remembered being saved by seven Narutos in the Land of Waves.

I looked over and saw Naruto was perfectly fine. The other guy had jumped out of the trees to join his teammate. _Alright, it's my turn!_ I thought to myself. I made three hand signs and said, "_Clone Jutsu!_" A puff of smoke appeared consisting of one clone. The both of us drew out a kunai and charged. We switched sides and kept charging. "Matt, what are you thinking!" Naruto screamed. The Rain Ninja I had charged drew out a kunai and embedded it in my stomach. At least, he thought he did. The kunai passed right on through as the clone disappeared. I raised my fist and put it in his cheek. He staggered backwards and dropped to the ground. The other ninja charged me with a kunai at the ready.

I made five hand signs and was stabbed in the back. I was engulfed in a puff of smoke and came out as a log with the kunai still embedded in it. I threw a shuriken from the trees and hit him right in the back. He dropped to the ground and fell motionless. The three of us searched them. Eventually, Naruto yelled, "I got it, but…oh. It's another heaven scroll." Sakura and I sighed.

"So, basically, that fight was completely pointless, is that what you're saying?" I asked him.

"Well, not entirely. We could snatch their scroll anyway, you know, to reduce the number of pairs people can get their hands on. Or, for a backup, in case ours is taken," said Sakura.

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea," I confirmed. The three of us proceeded deeper into the Forest of Death. About two hours later, we hit the top of a tall hill and saw in the distance…. "The tower!" I said excitedly. But then, I remembered, "Oh, wait, we still need to get our hands on an earth scroll."

"Yeah," said Sakura.

"Well, look at that, we just so happen to have what you're looking for." We turned around to another team facing us. Their headbands consisted of a small rectangle at the top and an hourglass below it.

"Sand genin," said Sakura, "Really good at _Wind Style_."

The Sand in the center pulled out a white scroll with black on the outside and the _kanji_ for earth. It was an earth scroll. "The six of us will fight for this earth scroll and your heaven scroll." He put the scroll back in his pocket. "The winner will proceed to the tower. The loser, well, that is yet to be determined." Naruto, Sakura and the three Sand genin took battle positions.

I made six hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" Twenty tiny fireballs shot from my mouth and towards the Sand genin. They all jumped the tiny fireballs.

One of them clapped his hands together and said, "_Wind Scythe Jutsu!_" A large gust of wind shot straight at me from the genin's hands. I just barely managed to jump out of the way. When I did jump, I cleared twenty feet easy. I made six more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" But instead of firing the tiny fireballs, I released the chakra in three large waves that pursued the Sand team. The three of them had a fine time avoiding the fireballs, but eventually, they ran behind trees or rocks that intercepted the fireballs. I ran towards one of them with a kunai at the ready, and he whipped out a knife of his own and parried my slash.

I made a stab towards his side, but he countered with a stab towards my gut. I drew my kunai knife over and blocked his stab and spun around, landing my foot in his jaw. He spat out blood and flew about ten feet away. Another one appeared behind me with a kunai at the ready. I just barely managed to sway to the side to dodge his stab. Five shuriken were thrown from the genin I had kicked in the jaw and headed right for me. The other one jumped out of the way so as not to get hit. I slashed my kunai several times and knocked all of the shuriken out of the air. I picked them up and flung them right on back.

He clapped his hands together and said, "_Wind Style: Wind Wall!_" A wall of pure wind engulfed him and blew the shuriken away. "_Wind Scythe Jutsu!_" Another wave of wind shot from the wall at me, and I just barely managed to jump out of the way. As I flew, I distinctly noticed the tree I had been standing next to get chopped in two. I landed in another tree and started formulating my next move. About a minute later, the three genin appeared in the branches above me with shuriken in their hands. I jumped out of the way just as the shuriken cut their way through the branches. While in the air, the three Sand genin surrounded me; one above, one below and one to my left, all armed with kunai.

I started falling and landed right on top of the guy below me. I jumped off of him and slashed the guy above with a kunai of my own. I knew I was done when I started falling. I was seventy feet in the air; I would splatter on impact. I came along a large tree and stuck my kunai in it. I almost let go, but I just barely managed to keep suspended in the air. I drew out another kunai and stuck it in the tree as well. I used them to climb down the tree and safely land on the ground. The last Sand, who had wagered the scroll, appeared in front of me with a kunai. "I'm not like those other two idiots," he said. "You won't have such an easy time fighting me."

He charged with a kunai, but I jumped in an arc over him and landed behind him. I slashed my kunai, but in the blink of an eye, he spun around and parried my attack, knocking my kunai out of my hand. He made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Gust Movement!_" He disappeared in a burst of speed and came out right behind me with his fist raised. I tired to block him, but he got around my guard and sent me rolling across the ground. I looked at him while still on the ground, and he made some more hand signs and planted his palm on the ground. "_Wind Style: Gust Wave!_" A wave of wind shot out from his hand, traveling across the ground, and it hit me head-on and sent me flying through the air.

I was just barely able to get to my knees when he appeared behind me with a kunai raised. This time, I managed to duck him, and I tried to land my foot in his stomach, but he disappeared again. He almost instantly reappeared about ten feet away from me, waiting for me to make my move. "Jeez, who are you?" I asked. "My name is Masuta Tatsumaki. And this fight…is now over!" He leaped at me with his fist raised, and I quickly made six hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew out the humongous fireball at him and caught him off guard.

"Matt, NO!" That was when I realized the magnitude of the mistake I had made. First of all, I had accidentally killed a man, but also, I had charred their earth scroll. I dropped to my knees, mainly out of lack of chakra. I rolled over and laid flat on the ground. It was about fifteen minutes before I could move again. When I could, I struggled to my feet to face the charred body in front of me.

His teammates crawled out of the trees. One of them stared at the burnt body. He looked at me and said, "It seems we certainly underestimated you. When next we meet, you won't be so lucky."


	8. Chapter 8: The Preliminaries Begin

THE PRELIMINARIES BEGIN

The dead guy's teammates crawled out of the trees. One of them stared at the burnt body. He looked at me and said, "It seems we certainly underestimated you. When next we meet, you won't be so lucky." And the two of them leaped off into the forest. I didn't know what they planned on doing, seeing as how they were ultimately disqualified.

Naruto, Sakura and I proceeded towards the tower. We were about a half-mile away when our next confrontation started. A squad of genin appeared from out of nowhere to stand between us and the tower. Their headbands consisted of what looked like three curved grass blades. "I take it these are Hidden Grass genin?" I asked. Sakura nodded. "And? I take it you want to fight us?" I asked them.

"Absolutely," said the genin.

"Well then, let's get this started." I made six hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" Twenty tiny fireballs shot from my mouth towards the genin. They all dodged them and charged me at the same time. I parried a kunai slash with a kunai of my own, while another one of them appeared behind me with a kunai aimed at my back. I spun around and parried his slash as the first genin prepared for another slash. I jumped into the air and sheathed my knife. I drew out five shuriken and threw them down upon the ninja. They both blocked them and threw shuriken back up at me. Since I was still in the air, I back-flipped out of the way of the way and landed perfectly on the ground. I charged with my kunai and slashed, but was parried and countered with a slash of his own. I just barely managed to jump back to avoid the slash. I took out my last five shuriken and threw them at the ninja. They all embedded themselves in the ninja, who fell to the ground.

The second ninja appeared to my right with a kunai aimed at my side. My arm shot down and blocked his slash with my own kunai. I kicked him over to Naruto, who immediately went to work on him while I took care of the final Grass genin. I slashed at his stomach, which he parried, he made a stab towards my gut, which I parried. I put my hand on the ground and kicked him right in the jaw. He floated upwards with blood trickling from his mouth. I threw my kunai, which landed in his stomach. I drew out another kunai and landed it in his chest. He dropped to the ground and fell motionless. The other guy went rolling past me and ran into a tree.

Naruto walked over. In his hand was an earth scroll. I couldn't help but smile. We proceeded towards the tower and found door number thirteen. We entered and found ourselves in a large room with a large writing board on the back wall. It was kind of hard to make out the _kanji_, but eventually, I got something like;

_If qualities of heaven are your desire, acquire wisdom to take your mind higher. If earthly qualities are what you lack, train your body and prepare to attack. When heaven and earth are opened together, the perilous path will become righteous forever. This is the secret way that guides us from this place today._

There was a word that was missing in the passage. I didn't really understand it, however, I did get one thing; "So, does this mean we have to open the heaven and earth scrolls now?" I asked. Sakura nodded. The two of them opened the scrolls and suddenly threw them, as if they were alive. They landed overlapping in an 'X'. At first, I wondered what was wrong, until I saw smoke issuing from the middle of the scrolls. Suddenly, a large puff of smoke appeared. The smoke cleared to reveal a man of about twenty. He had long, brown hair in a ponytail, he was extremely tan, and he had a gnarly scar across the bridge of his nose. Like Kakashi, he had a blue long-sleeved shirt with a green vest over it, blue sweats, and a headband across his forehead. Except it wasn't covering his left eye.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei," said Naruto lightheartedly.

"Good evening, Naruto, Sakura," said the one known as Iruka. His gaze then drifted onto me. "So, I take it you're the new genin Kakashi fetched from America?" he asked me.

"Uh, yes, sir," I said respectively.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Iruka Umino. I taught Naruto and Sakura while they were in the Academy. You know, Kakashi speaks very highly of you," he informed me.

"Uh, thanks," I said, not sure what else to say.

"Well, it looks like I'll get to see your talent first-hand with what comes next.

"Iruka-sensei, is it the third task, or…?" Sakura began, but didn't finish. Iruka shook his head.

"I'm afraid the third exam will have to wait. Even more genin than last time have passed the second exam."

"Wha? Even more? Even less passed the first!" said Naruto.

"Yes, well, this year's remaining candidates make last time's look weak. In other words, the three of you will need to prepare yourselves; especially you, Matt," said Iruka.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," I said sincerely.

"Well, anyways, you know where to go, so I'll see you in a few minutes." And he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"And where might that be?" I asked them blankly.

"Just follow us," said Sakura.

And so, I followed the two of them down a flight of stairs set at the edge of the room into a large room that could easily fit my house ten times over. I immediately realized what it was…an arena. A balcony stretched across all four walls of the room about twenty feet from the ground. In the center of the room stood seven rows of people, all set in threes. It looked like twenty-four genin, including us, had passed the second exam. What was about to come next? If not the third exam, then what were we about to do? That was when Tsunade stepped forward. I hadn't noticed her before now…or all the instructors behind her. There was Kakashi and Iruka, and then about twenty other people. I figured they must have been the teachers of all the genin who might have shown up.

"Welcome, genin," Tsunade said. "First of all, I'd like to congratulate all of you on passing the second exam. Second thing I must address is what you all will be doing next. Contrary to what some of you, and probably most of you, are thinking right now, this is not the third exam. Off the top of my head, I can think of a dozen of you who know what is happening now." Her eyes rested on a few different people, including Naruto and Sakura. "Before we move on to the actual third exam, we need to have a preliminary-"

"Do what!" I yelled, thinking I had misheard. A preliminary? What was she talking about?

"A preliminary exam. The twenty-four of you will be participating in one-on-one combat against each other, the loser being disqualified from the Chunin Exams." "Okay, and why would this be?" I asked. "Well, to be honest, we weren't expecting this many of you to pass. The rules state a preliminary exam can be held at any stage in the game in order to reduce the number of candidates who can move on."

"So basically, what you're saying is, 'hey, you passed, but we didn't expect you to, so now you gotta fight with a fifty-fifty chance of actually passing' is that it?"

"Pretty much. You know, that's exactly what I said when they did this to me when I was taking the exams. Don't look at me, I didn't make the rules. The problem is, the leaders and feudal lords of a bunch of different countries will be showing up for the third exam. They came only to see the best of the best, and we can't waist their time. So, this is the only option."

My mouth was hanging wide open. Finally, when I regained the ability to speak, I said, "And when will these 'preliminaries' be taking place?" She seemed reluctant to answer this, but she didn't need to. Her expression told me. "Yeah, that's what I thought," I said.

"Yeah, well, anyways, if you'll direct your attention to the panel up there," she pointed to a large black screen set into the back wall of the room. "This will randomly select the opponents for the first match. The next pair won't be chosen until the match is over, so you'll have no idea who you'll be facing."

Then, the screen lit up, and names started flashing across the screen. They were moving too fast for me to make any of them out. About ten seconds later, the screen froze and I read the two names spelled out in it.

KINOA HAKURO

VS

SHINO ABURAME

"The two of you stay down here while the rest of you go up to the balcony," said Tsunade.

The genin and the instructors all jumped up to the balcony, except for a guy with short, dark brown hair and a guy with long blonde hair. The guy with brown hair was wearing a white jacket that was buttoned all the way up to his neck, with brown pants. He also had black sunglasses that obscured his eyes completely and was adorning a Leaf Village headband. The guy with blonde hair was wearing a red tank-top and black sweats with red shoes. He had a Hidden Waterfall headband. It looked like I was about to see what other jutsu existed in this world.

"Are you all ready?" said one of the instructors, who I guessed was the proctor for this thing.

"I'm ready," said the Leaf ninja.

"So am I," said the Waterfall ninja. He had a stereotypical surfer-dude voice. He took a fighting stance, ready to fight.

"Begin!" said the proctor, who then jumped out of the way.

"Alright, let's do this, Shino," said the Waterfall ninja named Kinoa. He charged forward and raised his fist. He got to Shino and launched his fist forward. Shino sidestepped him and put his own fist into Kinoa's gut. "Not bad," said Kinoa, who seemed completely unfazed by this sudden counterattack. "But let's see you dodge this!" And he threw his leg out, knocking Shino off-balance. Kinoa landed his fist in Shino's stomach and knocked him back several steps. Kinoa ran forward and punched him in the gut three more times. Then, he jumped up and landed his foot into Shino's jaw. Shino was knocked off his feet and landed on his back.

"Come on Shino! You can beat this guy!" yelled someone in the balcony. Shino got to his feet and wiped blood from his lip.

"Alright, you ready to get serious?" said Kinoa. "I've always wanted to fight an Aburame, and now, I'm gonna beat you all across this arena."

Shino put out his arm at Kinoa, as if he was going to shoot something at him. "Oh, here we go," said Kinoa, seeming to get more and more pumped by the minute. Then, something _did_ shoot out of Shino's arm. A lot of somethings, in fact. They were halfway to Kinoa when I realized what they were. _Bugs_. Shino had shot a swarm of bugs at Kinoa, who jumped them and barreled right down on top of Shino, his fist raised. Shino kept his hand raised and a wall of bugs appeared, blocking Kinoa's blow. He landed on the ground and went around the wall of bugs. Shino raised his arms and blocked Kinoa's punch. Kinoa lowered himself to the ground and broke Shino's guard with a well-aimed kick. Shino went flying ten feet away and rolled across the ground.

"Whoa, I've never seen anyone do that to Shino in such a short amount of time," said Naruto in awe.

"I know, this Kinoa guy is good," Sakura agreed.

"What did I tell you?" said a voice from behind us. We looked and saw Iruka standing there, eyes fixed on the match.

I looked at it too and saw Shino was back on his feet. He held his arms out on either side of him and hundreds of bugs flew out of them. He pointed his arms at Kinoa and a massive swarm of tiny insects shot at him from both arms. Kinoa jumped up and did a back-flip through the air. He made a hand sign along the way and landed on the wall…I mean, he literally _landed _on the wall. His feet were stuck to it. The swarm of bugs followed him upward and surrounded him. Just as the bugs charged, he dropped off of the wall and landed on the ground. The bugs followed him there too. He charged away from the wall just as the bugs smashed into the ground where he had been standing. He charged straight for Shino, his fist raised. Shino leaped backwards through the air and summoned his bugs to protect him.

They shot in tiny swarms at Kinoa like ballistic missiles. He swerved in and out of all of them and kept on charging Shino. He raised his fist, and when he got to Shino, threw it forwards. When he did this, the fist became surrounded in a bright-blue substance, which tore up the ground around him. Shino threw up a wall of bugs to protect himself, but Kinoa kept on charging. His fist collided with the wall of bugs, and a massive explosion ripped the air apart.


	9. Chapter 9: The Gentle Fist

THE GENTLE FIST

I stood there with my mouth open, wondering if anyone was alive in there. Shino came flying out of one end of the cloud of dust and hit the ground rolling. The dust cleared and Kinoa stood right in the center of a twenty-foot wide crater set into the ground. He didn't have a scratch on him. "Is that really all you got?" Kinoa asked Shino, who struggled to his feet. It looked like this fight was still on.

"Not even close," he said, raising his arm. Kinoa looked around and his eyes widened in horror. All of the bugs that Shino had sent after him rose into the air in a massive swarm, thirty feet high. Kinoa tried to jump out of the way, but the bugs got him. They wrapped around his leg like a giant hand and brought him down. They smashed him into the ground, putting another small crater in it. Then, the bugs lifted him into the air and threw him in to the wall. He cracked a hole in it, and when he fell to the ground, several chunks of the wall fell on top of him. He crawled out of the rubble and got to his feet, no longer smiling.

"You think you're safe?" Shino said, bringing up his arm higher into the air. His bugs had been crawling around at his feet, and now rose upwards in resemblance of an explosion. Kinoa was thrown through the air, and caught by a new swarm of bugs that Shino had produced. The first swarm flew over and joined the second, landing on Kinoa. They engulfed him completely, closing his air pipes. Was Shino going to suffocate him? No. He lowered his arm and the bugs slammed him into the ground. The swarm cleared and it was revealed that Kinoa had been knocked unconscious. "Whoa," I said in shock. No matter who I faced in the third exams (assuming I actually made it to them), I just hoped it wasn't this guy. He was…brutal.

"And the winner," said the proctor, "is Shino Aburame." I looked around and saw that most of the foreigners were just as surprised as I was. The people from the Hidden Leaf, however, had smiles on their faces, like they knew this was going to be the outcome all along. "Now, on to the next match," said the proctor as doctors rushed forward and lifted Kinoa onto a stretcher. The screen lit up again and names flashed across it at light-speed once again.

"Oh boy," I said as the screen froze.

HINATA HYUGA

VS

MATT WITHAU

It was my turn already? Reluctantly, I jumped over the side of the railing and landed on the ground. I looked around and saw my opponent jump down as well. I gulped as I saw who it was. Hinata Hyuga was a girl. _Oh great,_ I thought to myself. _Not only do I get to face someone who's probably had ten times as much experience as me, but I get to embarrass myself even more by getting my butt kicked by a girl! _We walked to the center of the arena to face each other. She had short, dark-blue hair. She was wearing a white coat and dark-blue sweats. There was a Leaf headband tied around her neck. Then I noticed her eyes. They were lavender and pupil-less; just like that other guy. Were the two of them related?

"Alright, begin!" said the proctor. Hinata leaped backwards and landed at the base of the wall. She was waiting for me to make the first move. I grabbed a shuriken out of its holster and threw it at her. She ducked and it embedded itself in the wall behind her. She certainly had good reflexes. Let's see how she liked this. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I shot ten fireballs out of my mouth that raged towards Hinata. Her eyes widened and she jumped out of the way. Four of the fireballs crashed into the ground where she had been standing, while the other six followed her through the air. She landed on the ground and ran away from the fireballs, which pursued her the whole way through.

She jumped up and landed on a pillar just as one of the fireballs smashed into the ground where she was about to run across. She leaped off of the pillar just as another fireball hit it and blew it apart. The sudden loss of support sent a portion of the balcony crashing to the ground. Luckily, the two people standing there had managed to move just in time. She slid across the ground on her feet, avoiding two more fireballs. That left two more. She leaped through the air and landed on the wall. One of the fireballs smashed into the wall and sent rubble crashing down on top of the other people. She jumped off just as the last fireball smashed into the wall where she had been, sending more rubble down onto the balcony.

I was about to wait for her to make the next move, when I realized what she was falling towards…me. I made six hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew a massive fireball out of my mouth at her, which she flew right into. _Whoops! Hope they aren't gonna take points off for killing her,_ I thought to myself. Something dropped from the flames, and at first I thought it was her body. But then I realized it was a burnt-up log. "You gotta be kidding me," I said as I realized that she was behind me. I raised my hands to defend myself, but she knocked my fist aside and landed her palm right into my stomach.

Her hand felt like the tip of a baseball bat, it hurt so much. I spat out blood and hit my knees, my arms wrapped around my stomach. Yeah, I was way in over my head with this, I thought as I realized that in this condition, she could do whatever she wanted. Instead of finishing me, she just stood there and did nothing. I looked up and saw that there was sadness in her eyes…she was pitying me. Out of rage, I shot up, but wasn't quick enough as she leaped backwards out of the way of my fist. The effort of swinging felt like a knife in my stomach, and I hung over and spat out more blood, while Hinata watched me with that same pitiful look on her face.

"Look, I don't know what's going on in your head, but if you think I'm done, you've never been more wrong, _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I had weaved eleven hand signs while I was talking, and the fireball burst out of my mouth, and instead of staying attached to my mouth, like it normally did, I had accidentally put a little more chakra in it than I had meant to, and as a result, it fired from my mouth and shot at Hinata. She had not been expecting this, which meant it put her into a state of shock, to the point where she was just barely able to roll out of the way. The fireball tore passed and smashed into the wall, tearing a lot of it out and destroying a part of the balcony.

I charged her while she was still down, and when she was back on her feet, I landed my fist right into her jaw. Blood poured out of her mouth as she fell back to the ground, and didn't get back up. "Alright, I tried to go easy on you, but you got angry with me, so now I'm gonna go all out," she said angrily. And in the blink of an eye, she jumped to her feet and threw her palm at my stomach again. I sidestepped her and grabbed her wrist so she couldn't counterattack. I landed my foot in her gut, and she stepped away from me, massaging the spot where I had hit her. I leaped back, and when I landed, I pulled out four shuriken and threw them at her. She rolled out of the way of them and immediately got back to her feet. She formed a hand sign and said, "_Byakugan!_"

"Whoa!" I said as I saw the effect of her jutsu. Veins pulsed going outward from her eyes, and tiny veins formed in a circle in her eyes, forming slight pupils. She crossed her arms and held her palms out, ready to go, and I stepped back as blue fire formed around both of her hands. I pulled out a kunai and we both charged at the same time. She dodged my first swipe, I sidestepped her blow, and she knocked my knife out of my hand with her bare fist. She tried to hit me again, but I managed to back out of the way of it before she could. I lowered myself to my hands and swung my legs through the air. My right foot aimed at her head, but she raised both of her hands to counter it. I flipped back to my feet and sent my fist at her face.

She tried to catch it, and managed to do so, but I had put so much force behind the punch that I sent her own hand right into her jaw, along with my fist, and sent her flying away. She landed on the ground and started rolling, but flipped back to her feet and charged again. I sidestepped her blow, and she swept her other hand around near my head, but I ducked it, and she flipped onto her hands, and, like me, swung her foot up and down at my head. I went in behind her kick and landed my fist in her stomach, knocking her off-balance, and I then grabbed the leg she had used to kick me and threw her about five feet away.

She got back to her feet, and when I charged her, she ducked my guard and landed her palm in my stomach. I spat out blood again and stepped back away from her to keep her from hitting me again. She charged forward and landed her palm in my bottom jaw, shooting me up through the air and landing me twenty feet away. A lot of blood was pouring out of my mouth, and I couldn't move at all. Hinata walked over and stared down at me. She didn't have a look of pity at all, in fact, she looked very mad at me. "Well, you asked for it, kid, maybe next time, you'll watch your mouth! I really don't think you know who you're messing with, do you?" she asked bitterly.

"You're right, and being that as it may, I'd have been an idiot not to be prepared for anything," and I disappeared in a puff of smoke. "What the-!" she said, and she turned around and looked up. I was dive-bombing her with my fist, and had taken her off-guard, so she was too surprised to counterattack. I managed to land my fist square into her jaw and send her crashing to the ground. Blood was trailing from her mouth, and there was a large spatter of it on the ground.

"How-when did you do that?"

"When I made that _Fireball Jutsu_," I answered. "I guess you didn't know, but _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu_ only takes _six_ hand signs, contrary to the eleven I made," I explained.

"Wait, so you're saying the other five signs were a _Substitution Jutsu_?" she asked, looking back at the chunk of wall behind her that I had used when my fireball had blown out the wall. "Well, for a beginner, you're a lot better than I thought, my mistake," and she swept her foot around and tripped me up, making me fall backwards while she jumped to her feet. I landed on my hands and used them to flip myself back to my feet and charged again. She threw my fist aside, and tried to put her palm in my stomach again, but I grabbed her wrist, and tripped her up with my foot. I landed the same foot in her stomach and sent her to the ground with her hands wrapped around her stomach.

I pulled out a kunai and prepared for a counterattack when she got back to her feet and got into a fighting stance. Then, she smiled and made a hand sign with one hand. It was half of a tiger sign, and then she lowered her hands, and everything went black. Like, literally, everything, except for Hinata and I. then, a green circular design appeared at her feet, going out about five feet. "_Gentle Fist Art: Protected Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!_" She waved her arms around so fast I couldn't follow them and shot about fifty neon-green needles at me. About thirty-five of them hit me, spread evenly all over my body. I fell to the ground with blood pooling around me, and about to die from blood-loss.


	10. Chapter 10: The Hidden Leaf's Genius

THE HIDDEN LEAF'S GENIUS

I sat there, bleeding all over the place, wondering how I was still alive. I coughed up a big clot of blood that hit the ground like mud and said, "A-Agh! What kind of an attack was that?"

"It's my kekkei genkai," she answered.

"Okay, and what on earth's a 'kekkei genkai'?" I asked.

"They're special hereditary jutsu within a specific clan, in my case, the Hyugas. Only members within that clan can learn and use them," she explained.

"F-Fantastic," I said weakly, slipping closer and closer into unconsciousness. Just when I was on the brink of dropping, I had a sudden reminder of my reason for being here. While preparing for the Chunin Exams, I decided that I would help Naruto find Sasuke and bring him home. And the stronger I got between then and now, the better. I struggled back to my feet and grabbed the kunai off the ground next to me. The needles disappeared in a burst of light and I was ready to fight some more. Hinata was all but in awe at the fact that I could still stand, and she hadn't even taken a stance to counter me. In fact, the only thing she did was back up slowly, as I started walking towards her, slowed by pain.

Eventually, I managed to get over it and charge. When I got to her, she seemed to realize what was happening and dived out of the way. I stopped abruptly and landed the kunai in her leg. She screamed in pain and wrenched the knife out of her leg to let it bleed out. She got back to her feet and threw the kunai at me, and since I was in too much pain to move, it hit me right in the stomach and knocked me off my feet. I hit the ground and immediately fell unconscious, probably from all the blood loss.

[Hinata's point-of-view] All I could do was look at him, horrified at what I had done. I turned towards the proctor, who had now landed in the arena, and said, "And the winner is-huh?" His head turned towards Matt, and so did everyone's in the arena. I turned around and gasped. He was on his feet with his kunai raised, ready for more.

[Matt's point-of-view] I held my kunai ready and prepared to fight some more. "Well?" I said, "Come on, let's finish it."

"No," she said, "no, you have to stop, you're gonna get yourself killed, Genma-sensei, you have to stop this match," she pleaded with the proctor.

"Yeah, alright, the winner is-"

"DON'T YOU DARE!"

They both looked at me, startled. "If I end up dying, then fine, but as long as I can still move, I will never give up, that ain't how I work!" In all reality, all I wanted was to give up. My entire body hurt so much, I was surprised I wasn't dead from the pain.

"Fine then," Hinata said softly. She raised her hand and, before I could stop her, she said, "I, Hinata Hyuga, forfeit this match." My mouth hung wide open, disbelieving of what had just happened.

"Alright, then," said Genma, who didn't seem remotely fazed. "The winner of this match is Matt Withau!"

The moment he said my last name, I fell over and passed out.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "Matt!" I screamed as Sakura and I jumped over the rails to get to him. A bunch of medical ninja rushed forward and put him on a stretcher and ran him off to the Leaf Village Hospital.

"I hope he'll be okay," Sakura said to me.

"No kidding, he took a lot of heat back there," I said.

"Don't worry," said Kakashi who had joined us. "I've personally seen to it that the best have been assigned to him," he told us.

"Good," said Sakura.

"Well, in the meantime, we should probably get off the arena so they can start the next match," he told us, and we all leaped up and landed on the balcony. The name selector started up again, and after about five seconds, it stopped on:

INO YAMANAKA

VS

SHIKAMARU NARA

"What!" I said, looking over at the two of them, who were on the same team. Both of them had their mouths hanging open and were staring at each other.

"B-But, that's not fair! There's no way I can beat you!" said the girl, Ino.

"Well, sorry Ino," said the guy, Shikamaru, "But, man, I can't just give up," he said, looking like he was egging her to understand. "Well, I'm not gonna give up!" said Ino.

"Well, looks like we're fighting then," said Shikamaru, and they both hopped over the rails and into the arena. They walked to the center of the room.

"Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, are you ready?" Genma asked them.

"Yeah," they both said.

"Alright, begin!"

Ino immediately pulled out three shuriken and threw them at Shikamaru, who ran out of the way. He pulled out a kunai of his own and threw it at Ino, who sidestepped it and pulled out her own knife. Shikamaru ran out of the way of the kunai and squatted down. "Alright, I'm not gonna win this fight by running, so, _Shadow Possession Jutsu!_" His shadow stretched out, weaving its way towards Ino, who now looked as if she were wondering what the flowers on her coffin would look like. She leaped into the air to make her shadow as small as possible, but no matter how high she jumped, she still cast a shadow, and that was how the _Shadow Possession Jutsu_ worked. It lets the user manipulate their own shadow, and run it into their opponent's so they are forced to mimic whatever the user does. She was backing up to land on the wall, and when Shikamaru realized this, he said, "Gotcha!"

He was stretching his shadow to where she was going to land so she would have no escape, but it wasn't long enough. It got within two inches of Ino and couldn't go any further. She landed on the wall and sighed in relief that she hadn't been caught. Shikamaru retracted his shadow and waited for Ino to make the next move. I looked into Shikamaru's eyes and saw that he already had a plan formed in his mind. Shikamaru was easily the smartest person in this entire room, including the jonin, and even Grandma Tsunade (she's not really my grandma, that's just what I call her). That was when I realized something; I ran over to where their other squad mate and their sensei were standing and said, "Hey, Asuma-sensei."

"Yeah, what is it, Naruto?" he answered.

"Well, it's just, Shikamaru's already a chunin, why's he taking the Exams again?"

"Uh, well," he said, seemingly hesitant to answer this. "You're not gonna believe this, but, it was because he wanted to see how far he could go," he finally said.

"Wha? That doesn't sound like Shikamaru at all," I said.

"That's what I said. He told me that since the Exams were interrupted last time, he wanted to take them again, to see how far he could go," Asuma told me.

"Are you serious?" I asked, looking back at the match. I apparently hadn't missed much, the two of them were both in the same position as before. Ino had a sour look on her face, while Shikamaru was smiling.

"Damn you, Shikamaru," said Ino bitterly.

"Yeah, you know I got you," said Shikamaru happily.

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to get you off guard, won't I?" she said, although it seemed she had no clue how to do that. She made a hand sign that had her thumbs, and her fore and middle fingers intertwined in a circle with the rings and pinkies sticking out.

"What? Come on Ino, you can't be that stupid, you know I could easily dodge that," Shikamaru said skeptically.

"That's the point, genius. You may be able to dodge it, and I might me immobile afterwards, but…you'll have no way of knowing rather I actually fire it or not," she informed him, which was a very good point.

"True, I guess I'll just have to take the risk," he told her, and it seemed he had no intentions of going anywhere.

"Alright, Shikamaru, you asked for it, _Mind Transfer Jutsu!_" and right at that moment, Shikamaru started running towards her. Ino lost her chakra-grip on the wall and crashed to the ground. It seemed she really had used the jutsu. Realizing this, Shikamaru slowed to a casual walk as he made his way towards her.

"Well, looks like I win," he said cheerfully as he bent down to examine his teammate. Right at that moment, she leapt up and landed a kunai right in Shikamaru's gut. She hadn't really cast the jutsu after all. Blood dripped from the wound and from his mouth, pooling at their feet.

"I really thought you were smarter than that, Shikamaru, looks like I was wrong," said Ino evilly as she kept her knife firmly into his gut.

"You think so, huh? Well, let's see how you like this. _Ninja Art: Shadow Strangle Jutsu!_" His shadow split into two and formed hands going up Ino's body. One of them made its way down her arm to her hand at Shikamaru's gut while the other one stopped at her neck. The first pulled Ino's hand back and wrenched the kunai out of Shikamaru's gut, then squeezed her hand so she dropped it. The second hand squeezed her neck and began choking her. She tried to struggle with it, but since it wasn't solid, she couldn't do anything about it. Finally, Shikamaru picked up the kunai and raised it towards Ino. "I think its time you had a taste of your own medicine. You stab me, I stab you…everything's fine."

"Wait, what the hell's he doing!" I yelled in shock. "That isn't Shikamaru, there's no way he'd stab one of his teammates!" I looked at Asuma to see what he thought, and was surprised to see his teeth gritted.

"Gah! Let me go! Shikamaru, I can't breathe!" Ino squealed, still trying to struggle with the shadow at her throat.

"Hm? Does that mean you surrender?" Shikamaru asked with a mischievous grin.

"Yes! I, Ino Yamanaka forfeit this match, gah!" Before she had even finished, Shikamaru let her go.

"Alright, the winner is Shikamaru!" said Genma. Shikamaru sportingly helped Ino back to her feet and they both went back up to the stands.

"Hey, what the heck was that!" I said to Shikamaru as I ran over to them.

"Oh…yeah," Shikamaru said with a guilty grimace on his face. "Fact is I didn't really want to hurt my teammate any more than I had to, Ino being a girl and all, so I had to look like the bad guy and try to coax her into forfeiting," he explained, still with the guilty look on his face. "I'm sorry, Ino, I didn't want to do it, but I didn't have a choice," he said to her.

"I-it's fine," Ino said, looking none too sure of what to say to this. The name selector lit up again and five seconds later stopped on the names:

HAKURO TSURURI

VS

NEJI HYUGA

I looked towards Neji and the mystery guy, who both jumped down. Hakuro was from the Leaf Village, just like Neji, but I had never seen him before…I began to wonder what this guy could do. They both went to the center of the room and faced each other. "Alright," said Genma, "Begin!" Neji made a hand sign and I instantly knew what he was about to do.

"That didn't take long," said Hakuro.

"Well, no one knows you better than I do, Hakuro, and I know just how strong you really are, and I'm not willing to take chances here," said Neji.

"Alright, then, let's see that kekkei genkai of yours," said Hakuro.

"Very well then," said Neji, and he closed his eyes. "_Byakugan!_"


	11. Chapter 11: Hyuga at Work

HYUGA AT WORK

"_Byakugan!_" The veins in and around Neji's eyes pulsed in exactly the same way as Hinata's. The difference between Neji and his cousin was that Neji was much less merciful than Hinata. In fact, if _he_ had been fighting Matt, Matt would be dead.

"Alright, no point in going in close range, so I guess I'll just have to make enough heat to break your jutsu," said Hakuro.

So, did this mean he knew _Fire Style_? I guessed I was about to find out. Neji raised his hands, and chakra surrounded them, acting like blue fire. He charged Hakuro, who pulled out a kunai to defend himself. Neji ducked Hakuro's slash and landed his palm right into his gut. Hakuro spat out blood, but looked triumphant as he made a few hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fire Armor!_" Neji's hand got scorched as Hakuro's entire body became engulfed in an armor made completely of fire.

"Gah!" Neji immediately retracted his hand and jumped away from Hakuro, but that didn't change the fact that his hand had already been burnt and was all but useless.

"Alright, new trick, but I won't fall for it again," said Neji, who raised _both_ his hands and charged again.

"Didn't you just say you weren't gonna fall for it again?" Hakuro asked, not moving a muscle as Neji charged him.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't!" Neji said as he leaped towards Hakuro.

"What are you doing?" Hakuro asked as Neji flew towards him.

When Neji was within two feet of Hakuro, he landed on the ground and said, "_Rotation!_" He span like a top and released a massive burst of chakra that surrounded his whole body and took the form of a sphere as Neji span, and caught Hakuro in it.

"Gah!" Hakuro flew backwards with blood trailing out of his mouth and crashed to the ground. His _Fire Armor_ formed a crater in the ground, and it also disappeared on impact.

"There. That takes care of that," said Neji, who was massaging his burnt hand. Hakuro got back to his feet and made more hand signs.

"Alright, let's see how you do with this," he made six hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He fired an enormous fireball out of his mouth that shot at Neji, who leaped out of the way and into the air. He pulled out three shuriken and threw them down at Hakuro, who rolled out of the way and pulled out three shuriken of his own. Neji landed on the ground and pulled out a kunai to parry the shuriken that came his way, and then charged. Hakuro pulled out his own kunai and waited for Neji to come to him. He blocked Neji's first slash, and then countered with a sweep at Neji's head, which he ducked. Neji spun around on the ground and swept his foot on the ground to trip up Hakuro. Hakuro managed to jump Neji's foot and land his own foot in Neji's bottom jaw.

Neji was knocked back and landed on his hands, and he back-flipped to his feet and raised his arms, his hands becoming engulfed in chakra again. He charged Hakuro and swiped at him with both hands, but none of his blows connected. Hakuro threw his fist out, but Neji caught it ran his other hand, with his fore and middle fingers pointed outwards, right into the bottom of Hakuro's arm. "So, it's come to that, has it?" Hakuro asked, eyeing Neji's hand in his arm.

"I told you, Hakuro, I'm not willing to take chances here," said Neji.

"So, have you been striking them throughout the match, or just now?" Hakuro asked.

"That's the first one I've struck," Neji answered.

"Well then, it looks like I'm gonna have to start getting serious," said Hakuro, and he wrenched his hand out of Neji's grasp and leaped backwards. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" Hakuro fired about twenty tiny fireballs out of his mouth that homed in on Neji, who smiled.

"_Rotation!_" Neji spun like a top again and the wave of chakra appeared, just like last time, blocking all of the fireballs. Hakuro made a few more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Swirling Flames!_" He fired a pretty small ball of fire from his mouth that was about a foot in diameter and spinning as it flew towards Neji, who had cancelled his _Rotation_ and hadn't noticed the new attack. He instantly leaped out of the way, and the fireball smashed into the wall and brought a lot of it down. I looked around and saw that this guy, along with Matt, had really done a number on the arena. Rubble was piled up all over the bases of the walls and there were craters all over up and down. The balcony was down in a couple different places and rubble from the walls covered it in other places. I looked back to the fight and saw that the two of them had connected kunai knives and were struggling to outdo each other.

Finally, Neji snuck in a cheap-shot, and cast a _Rotation_ to send Hakuro flying back. He rolled across the ground and the blade of his kunai, which had shattered from the handle, landed in the ground. He threw his handle aside and charged again, making Neji smile in anticipation. Neji ducked Hakuro's fist, and rolled out of the way as Hakuro's other fist landed in the ground. Neji got back to his feet and landed his foot in Hakuro's gut, making him wrap his arms around it in pain. "Alright, you're finished!" said Neji as he landed his hands in Hakuro's arm, leg, and stomach, one after the other. Hakuro spat out blood and dropped to the ground, his hands wrapped around his stomach in pain. Eventually, he lost consciousness and fell over. Neji had won….

"_Fire Style: Nova Burst!_" A burst of bright-orange fire right in front of Neji and blew him off his feet, landing him into the wall. He looked barely conscious as he fell from the wall and smacked into the ground. Hakuro got back to his feet and made another hand sign. "_Fire Style: Pyrofists!_" He held out his hands and his fists became engulfed in fire. Neji stumbled back to his feet and charged, his hands engulfed in chakra. He ran straight passed Hakuro, without either of them touching each other, and turned to face him again. Hakuro made some hand signs and placed his hand on the ground.

"_Fire Style: Fire Wave!_" A wave of fire shot from his hand and traveled across the ground towards Neji, who leaped into the air. The wave smashed into the wall and brought more than half of it collapsing down into the arena. Neji made a hand sign and landed on the wall using his chakra. Hakuro threw three shuriken up at him, and he released his chakra grip and dropped to the ground. When he landed, he pulled out a kunai and waited for Hakuro to make his next move. Hakuro charged with his _Pyrofists_ raised, and Neji prepared to defend himself. Fire met metal and the blade was melted off the kunai and landed in the ground. While Hakuro's hands were finishing up his attack, Neji took the opportunity to land his palm in Hakuro's stomach.

Hakuro spat out blood, but didn't do anything else. Neji retracted his hand, and then planted both of them in Hakuro's torso, sending him flying back and rolling across the ground. Blood was trailing across where Hakuro had rolled, which had secreted from his mouth when he had been hit. It looked like he couldn't get back to his feet, so he just laid there, motionless. Neji walked closer and examined him, but Hakuro didn't move. Neji looked at Genma, silently confirming that the match was over. Genma nodded and said, "And the match goes to-" A massive crack formed in the ground next to Hakuro, who, I hadn't noticed before, was on his feet and ready for more.

The crack tore its way across the ground, as Hakuro said, "_Earth Style: Terra Breaker!_" The crack passed between Neji's feet and opened up in the ground, making a huge hole across the arena. Neji dropped into the pit, and we couldn't see him anymore. After about thirty seconds, the ground began to tremble, slightly at first, but then it felt like the whole Earth was shaking. Almost everyone was knocked off their feet, and the ones who still stood were clutched to the rail. Hakuro hit his butt hard as the ground shook under him and said, "Ah! What on earth is that?"

Then, Neji leaped out of the hole and into the air, almost level with the balcony. He dropped towards Hakuro, who was still on the ground, and performed another _Rotation_ while still moving towards him, and acted like a tornado, sending Hakuro flying into the wall and indenting a big crater in it. "What was that? I didn't know you knew _Earth Style_," Hakuro told Neji.

"I don't," Neji said simply, challenging Hakuro to figure it out.

"Oh, I get it," said Hakuro, comprehension dawning on his face.

"Wait, what's going on," I asked Sakura cluelessly.

"I…don't know," she confessed, looking at Neji, silently questioning him what he had done to make the entire arena shake.

"You used _Rotation_," Hakuro explained. "While you were in the ground, you used _Rotation_ to break up the rocks and send them caving into the pit, ultimately causing an earthquake. Pretty darned clever, Neji," Hakuro complimented him.

"Thank you," said Neji, "You've gotten a lot stronger since the last time we met. I had no idea you had also come across _Earth Style_, along with _Fire Style_," he said admiringly.

"Yeah, it wasn't until recently, when I started experiencing with other types of jutsu. The only ones I ever had any aptitude for was _Earth Style_, so I tested it out on some slips of chakra paper, and it became official. My nature types are Fire and Earth," Hakuro concluded.

"Incredible," said Kakashi-sensei behind me. "To come across two nature types as a genin is unheard of. This kid has potential to go far," he said, eyeing Hakuro with an air of definite interest.

"Well, it looks like I might just have to fight at my best," said Neji with a grin, and he resumed a fighting stance.

"Alright, let's finish this. Come on, Neji, give me everything you got!" Hakuro made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He fired the giant fireball, and Neji jumped it so it smashed into the wall and brought most of it down, with the help of all the other cracks and holes that had been formed in it. The large chunks of ceiling that had also fallen out smashed into the balcony and brought it to the ground as well. Neji landed on the wall and prepared for whatever Hakuro had coming for him next. Hakuro made some more hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Avalanche Jutsu!_" The wall Neji was standing on cracked from the bottom up, and began to cave while Neji was still on it. Neji leaped off the wall just as the spot where he had been standing on collapsed to reveal a hallway of the tower.

Neji landed twenty feet away from Hakuro, who charged him with his _Pyrofists_ jutsu activated. Neji ducked his first blow, tripped up Hakuro, and leaped back as Hakuro got back to his feet. Neji raised his chakra-enhanced fists, and Hakuro raised his _Pyrofists_. They both charged at the same time and met at the center of the room. "Gah!" Neji knocked Hakuro's fist into the air by connecting with the bottom of the forearm, and then landed his other hand square in the center of his chest. Neji retracted his hands, and it seemed Hakuro had been paralyzed. "Alright, you asked for my best, so here it is," he stretched both of his hands foreword, palms out, and then lowered one to a diagonal angle and set the other one at an upward diagonal angle behind him.

"Oh…man," said Hakuro through coughs of blood. A green circular seal appeared below Neji and covered everything within a dozen feet of him. "_Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!_"


	12. Chapter 12: Earth vs Water

EARTH VS WATER

[Neji's point-of-view] _"Hey, aren't you that kid everyone's always talking about from the Hyuga Clan?" _

_I turned around and saw someone I had never noticed was there. He was eyeing me with a weird look in his eye, almost like jealousy. "Well, I'm Neji Hyuga, if that's what you mean," I answered bitterly. It had been three years since my father had been killed for the clan. _

"_Yeah, that's the one," the boy said with the same look. "My name's Hakuro Tsururi, and I wanna fight you," the boy said suddenly. _

_I spat bitterly and said, "Look, I don't have time for you, so could you please leave me alone?" And I turned around and walked away. A moment later, a fist landed in the back of my head and sent me face-first into the ground. _

"_I said I wanna fight you," the boy repeated. I got back to my feet and turned to him. _

"_Alright, kid, you asked for it!" I made a hand sign and said, "_Byakugan!_" The kid's eyes narrowed as my kekkei genkai took effect and allowed me to see his chakra levels. He certainly had an unusual amount. He was about the same age as me, not even entered into the academy, and he had chakra levels equal to a genin, and maybe even a chunin. "_Gentle Fist!_" I said as I raised my hands and they became engulfed in chakra. I charged him, and he made six hand signs. _

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I gasped in fear as a fireball twice as big as him fired from his mouth and shot straight at me. I tried to dive out of the way, but I was caught towards the edge of it and my clothes were caught on fire and almost burnt away, saved only by my impact into the ground. I had severe burns all over my body, and I could barely move. Hakuro walked over to me and said, "Is this a joke? Is that really all you have, because if so, you're no better than that little idiot, Naruto Uzumaki!" _

_I had heard rumors about this Naruto. Apparently, his entire family had been killed off by the Nine-Tailed Fox six years ago and now wandered the streets of the Leaf as an orphan. It also seemed he had barely any talent as a ninja, and to be as bad as him was one of the worst disgraces you could come across. Knowing this, I shot to my feet and made to hit him with the _Gentle Fist_, but he was ready. He landed his fist into my stomach and I dropped to my knees, coughing up blood. _

"_Wow, you are really pathetic," he said, and he walked off. I sat there, clutching my stomach, tears rolling from my eyes at the thought of me losing so easily to some little punk. _

We stood there, my left hand keeping his right at bay above and my right hand in his chest. I lowered that hand to a diagonal angle, and my other one to an upward-diagonal angle, and everything went black. A green, circular seal speared at our feet and spread out about twelve feet. "You wanted my best, and now you've got it," I said to him. "_Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!_" The circular seal disappeared and light was restored when I attacked. I hit him with the tips of my fingers twice, and at the same time, said, "_Two Palms!_" I hit him four more times and said, "_Four Palms!_" I spun around and hit him eight more times, saying, "_Eight Palms!_"

Afterwards, I said, "_Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms!_" hitting him the respective amount of times. Finally, I spun around and landed my hand square in the center of his chest and said, "_Sixty-Four Palms!_" Dozens of tiny bursts of chakra appeared all over his body, making him cough up blood, and when the final burst subsided, he went flying back and crashed into the ground. Blood was trailing from his mouth, and it looked like he had been paralyzed from the pain. "You know what's just happened, don't you?" I asked him.

"Agh! You just cancelled my chakra flow!" he answered bitterly.

"Exactly. It might be better if you give up right now, while you still have some dignity," I suggested.

"Not until I can't breathe," Hakuro said bitterly, and he rose to his feet and charged me.

"Your loss," I said, waiting for him to come. "_Rotation!_" The wave of chakra knocked him into the air, and he crashed to the ground and fell unconscious. I had won.

"And the match goes to Neji Hyuga!" Genma yelled to the audience.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "Man, that was a long match," I said to Sakura, who nodded.

"Well, let's see who's next," said Kakashi. The name selector lit up and names flashed across the screen. Five seconds later, it stopped on the pair:

SARURA KUHARU

VS

NATSUHI KAMERO

Both competitors, neither of which I had ever seen before, jumped down from the balcony and walked to the center of the room. One of them was from the Hidden Waterfall Village, and the other was from the Hidden Leaf. "Alright, are you two ready?" Genma asked them.

"I'm ready," said the Waterfall.

"So am I," said the Leaf.

"Alright, begin!"

The Waterfall ninja made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Piercing Bullet!_"

He shot a fine tube of water from his mouth that was about an inch in diameter and shot straight at the Leaf, who made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" He placed his hands on the ground and formed several wide sets of cracks in the ground. Several rocks shot up from the ground and formed a wall to block the _Water Piercing Bullet_. The Waterfall's jutsu busted right through the _Rock Wall_ and forced the Leaf to leap out of the way, but the _Water Piercing Bullet_ followed him. He pulled out a kunai to defend himself, but the _Water Piercing Bullet_ disarmed him and flew straight up passed him, allowing him to escape. He dropped to the ground and leaped out of the way as the _Water Piercing Bullet_ smashed into the ground after him.

He landed near the _Rock Wall_, and leaped up again as the _Water Piercing Bullet_ smashed through from underground and flew up after him. While still in the air, the Leaf made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" Several small rocks shot up from the _Rock Wall_ and aimed at the _Water Piercing Bullet_. One of the rocks hit and dislodged the end of the _Bullet_ off about ten feet from the tip. The tip defocused into regular water and splashed to the ground, quickly followed by the rest of the jutsu. The Leaf landed on the wall and waited for the Waterfall's next attack. The rest of the _Water Piercing Bullet_ defocused into water and splashed to the ground, covering a fine line going about sixty-five feet.

The Waterfall made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!_" The line of water rose up and came into about ten larger streams of water, and then those came together into one really big stream of water that was shaped like a dragon and was aimed at the Leaf. The leaf jumped off the wall and the _Water Dragon_ smashed into it, bringing most of it down to the ground. The leaf landed on the ground twenty feet away from where the Waterfall had been standing, waiting for the next attack.

"Now that's talent," Kakashi said, eyeing the Waterfall with interest. "Hmm? What do you mean?" I asked, eyeing him as well. "Well, the _Water Dragon Jutsu_ is a B-Rank technique. Only chunin and higher should be able to perform it. It seems the rumors are true; the crop of candidates from last time don't hold a candle to these guys."

The Waterfall had charged the Leaf with a kunai, and slashed at him, but he backed out of the way of it and pulled out a kunai of his own. They both exchanged metal several times before anything else happened, and when it did, the Waterfall tripped up the Leaf and he fell to the ground. The Waterfall stomped on the Leaf's chest and aimed the kunai down at his face. The Leaf made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" Five rocks shot from the ground and flew at the Waterfall's back. He saw it coming and leaped off of the Leaf, making the rocks lodge themselves in the opposite wall. The Leaf rose to his feet and made some more hand signs. "_Earth Style: Rock Sword!_"

He smashed his hand into the ground and pulled out a large rock that was shaped vaguely like a sword.

"Man, there's no end to this guy's jutsu!" I said as he wielded his sword and pointed it at the Waterfall.

"Sarura, right?" the Leaf asked.

"Yeah," the Waterfall, named Sarura, answered.

"Well, Sarura," said Natsuhi, "I'm not gonna stop until you're in pieces, so you might want to give up now to save yourself the punishment!"

"Ah, shut up! All I heard about you was that you had a horrible temper, and a lot of overconfidence to boot, so I'm gonna rip your larynx out so you can't talk anymore, how's that?" Sarura said as he made a hand sign. Natsuhi waited for Sarura's move, and Sarura made a few more signs and said, "_Hidden Waterfall Style: Water Slicing Blade!_" Some of the water on the ground came up and converged in Sarura's outstretched hand. It took the form of a long, spiky sword and Sarura pointed it at Natsuhi. Natsuhi raised his _Rock Sword _at Sarura, and they both charged. They met near the wall and the _Rock Sword_ cut right through the _Water Slicing Blade_.

The _Water Slicing Blade_ immediately regenerated and Sarura got around Natsuhi's guard and grazed his side, but not before Natsuhi sidestepped it so Sarura wouldn't run him through the stomach. Natsuhi swung his sword and caught Sarura across the upper chest, knocking him off balance and sending blood spattering in every direction. Sarura hit the ground and Natsuhi stomped on his chest, pointing his sword down at his face. "What was that you said? You were gonna rip out my larynx?" Natsuhi said as he stared angrily down at Sarura.

"I still am," Sarura said as he another hand sign. "_Water Clone Jutsu!_" All of the puddles of water around the arena rose up and formed clones of Sarura, all of which raised kunai knives.

"Well, looks like things just got interesting," Natsuhi said as he turned to the roughly fifty Saruras looking at him. He pointed his rock sword at them, and waited for them to attack. Three clones charged, and Natsuhi prepared to take them down. He cut the first across the chest, then sidestepped a slash from the second, took out the third, then went back and took out the second. When they were hit, all three clones turned back to water and splashed to the ground. Sarura got to his feet and leaped up, landing on the ceiling, and the rest of the clones charged. Natsuhi charged them with his sword raised and crashed into the herd of clones, slashing away.

One jumped him from behind, he slashed the one in front of him, then spun around and cut the first. He ducked a stab at the back of his head, tripped up that clone, took out two with one slash, finished the one on the ground with a stab to the stomach, then jumped two slashes from behind. "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" About a dozen rocks flew over and took out three clones as Natsuhi dropped down into another mass of clones and started slashing again. He tripped up one, and slashed him across the chest as he flew into another, and slashed another, then spun around and took out another two, and more were still coming. Finally, Natsuhi made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" Rocks sprung up in a circle around him, protecting him from the clones.

Five of them leaped up and landed on the top of the wall, only to be knocked back down by rock shards. The real Sarura saw his opportunity to counterattack and pulled out a kunai. He dropped it into the pit and it clattered to the ground behind Natsuhi. Sarura had also wrapped a paper-bomb around the handle of the kunai, and that detonated, blowing the entire wall apart and taking out the nearest six clones. Natsuhi dropped from the cloud of smoke and rolled across the ground into two clones who lifted him up by the arms and held him in place.

Sarura dropped from the ceiling and landed perfectly on his feet, then walked over to Natsuhi with his _Water Slicing Blade_. "Told you you weren't gonna win this," he said with a malicious grin on his face. "And now," he said as he raised his sword, "you die!" And he ran it through Natsuhi's chest.


	13. Chapter 13: Elements Collide

Hey, guys, sorry about the wait. The website was screwing up, and every time I tried to edit the story, it came up with an Error 2 (has anybody else had these problems?) Anyway, here's Chapter 13, and unless something else happens, I should be able to keep going on my weekly Saturday schedule. Once again, sorry about the wait.

ELEMENTS COLLIDE

Sarura ran Natsuhi straight through the chest, who fell to the ground as the two clones let go of him. "Whoa! I can't believe he actually killed him!" I said in awe, looking at the body…and then I noticed something. "Wait a minute, something's not right," I said, staring at the body suspiciously. Then, Sakura noticed it too.

"Hey, you're right, there's no blood," she said. There wasn't a drop of blood to be found anywhere around the body, which could only mean one thing.

"_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" About fifty rocks shot out of the smoke and took out all of the remaining clones, leaving the arena flooded with water to go along with the rest of the carnage. The Natsuhi on the ground faded into stone, leaving Sarura speechless. The real Natsuhi charged out of the smoke with his _Rock Sword_ raised, headed right for Sarura, who tried to counter, but to no avail. Natsuhi slashed right through the _Water Slicing Blade_, and slashed Sarura twice in the chest. Sarura dropped to the ground with blood all over him, gasping for air. He turned onto all fours and tried to crawl away, but Natsuhi followed him and kicked him in the stomach, and he rolled over onto his back with blood streaming out of his mouth. His arms were wrapped loosely around his stomach, and his eyes looked glazed over, like he was about to fall unconscious.

"You still think you're gonna win?" Natsuhi asked. Sarura raised his hand towards Natsuhi, and then pointed at the ceiling. Natsuhi looked up, and so did everyone else. The _Water Clone_ on the ground reduced back to water as we all looked up at the real Sarura, who had been on the ceiling the whole time.

He made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!_" Just like before, all of the water around the arena came together to form a dragon-shaped stream that flew towards Natsuhi, ready to crush him.

"_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" About half a dozen rocks flew up and went right through the _Water Dragon_, but it kept on coming in full measure. Natsuhi leaped out of the way just in time to avoid getting crushed, but Sarura met him halfway up with his _Water Slicing Blade_, taking Natsuhi off guard. "Gah!" Natsuhi fell back to the ground with blood falling from the gash in his back, and crashed to the ground, but didn't get back up. Sarura dropped and landed right on top of him, breaking at least two of his ribs, and knocking him unconscious.

"Man, I've never seen so many different jutsu used in one fight," I said to Sakura, who nodded.

"Well, it's not over yet," said Kakashi-sensei, his eyes fixed firmly on the fight. Sakura and I both looked and saw Natsuhi rising to his feet, leaving pools of blood on the ground below him. He picked up his _Rock Sword_ and stared down Sarura to the point where his eyes were full of hate. "Bring it on," Sarura said, raising his _Water_ _Slicing Blade_. Natsuhi charged and connected with the _Water Slicing Blade_, but the _Blade_ held firm.

"What the-? What's going on?" Natsuhi asked bitterly, keeping the _Blade _from cutting his head off.

"You really can't figure it out?" Sarura said, bearing down on Natsuhi with all the force he could muster. Natsuhi finally ducked him and cut Sarura's side open, then charged passed him and let him fall to the ground. They were now both bleeding in equal measure, Sarura's wounds being much deeper than Natsuhi's, but Natsuhi having more in number.

"Yeah, I get it," Natsuhi said, glaring over at Sarura. "You poured more chakra into it, making it strong enough to withstand my blade," he explained, turning around and preparing to attack again.

"Exactly," Sarura confirmed, rising back to his feet and raising his _Water Slicing Blade_. Natsuhi charged before Sarura could move and connected with the _Blade_ with his _Rock Sword_, but like before, the _Blade_ didn't give. They both slashed at each other a few more times with no results, until Natsuhi leaped backwards and made some hand signs while still in the air.

"_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" A bunch of small rocks shot from the ground, all aimed right at Sarura from every direction, and Sarura made some hand signs of his own.

"_Water Style: Water Wall!_" All of the water around the arena flowed towards Sarura and formed a circle on the ground in front of him, and then more water appeared from out of nowhere and shot up in a huge circular wall around Sarura, blocking the rocks and knocking them out of the air. "_Water Style: Water Dragon Missile!_" Three small dragon-shaped streams of water shot out of the wall and aimed right for Natsuhi, who raised his _Rock Sword_. He managed to cut the heads off of the first two, making the streams revert back to shapeless water and splash harmlessly passed him. The third caught him in the stomach and pushed him off his feet, drove him across the arena, and slammed him into the wall, knocking chunks of it loose. The _Missile_ reverted to shapeless water and splashed to the ground, allowing Natsuhi to drop into a pile of rubble.

Natsuhi was now soaking wet, and soaking the ground with blood, while Sarura was in pretty good shape, waiting for Natsuhi to get back on his feet. He did so, and looked over at his _Rock Sword_, which he had dropped when the _Water Dragon Missile_ had hit him. "Oh, right," Sarura said as he saw what Natsuhi was looking at. He walked over to the sword and picked it up, examining it. "Hm, taking you down with your own sword, now _that's_ not a bad idea," he said, pointing it at Natsuhi with an evil grin.

"Try again," Natsuhi said as he made a hand sign. "_Earth Style: Earth Eruption!_" The ground around Sarura exploded right under his feet, and he went flying and smashed into a wall. Natsuhi ran over and picked up his _Rock Sword_, then held it ready, in case Sarura came back for more. Sarura walked out of the dust, but then lost his balance and dropped back to the ground. His _Water Slicing Blade_ was gone. It looked like he had lost chakra-control of it, and he was now defenseless. "Alright, let's finish this," Natsuhi said, raising his sword. Sarura rose to his feet, panting heavily, and when I looked at Natsuhi, I saw that he was panting just as heavily.

"They've used up so much chakra, it's a wonder either of them are still standing," Kakashi said, voicing my thoughts. Natsuhi charged Sarura, who just stood there, and aimed his _Rock Sword_ at his heart.

"Whoa, he's going in for the kill," I said, watching him advance towards Sarura. In a last-ditch effort to defend himself, Sarura made some hand signs and formed another _Water Wall_, which seemed to eat up the last bit of chakra he had left.

"Nice try," Natsuhi said, stopping abruptly and making some hand signs of his own. "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" Several slashing sounds echoed from inside the _Water Wall_, and the _Wall_ fell, flooding the rest of the arena in water. Sarura emerged with several rocks sticking out of his arms and legs, dripping watery blood to the ground.

Just when we thought the match was over, Sarura made a hand sign and said, "_Water Prison Jutsu_." The water at Natsuhi's feet rose up and formed a shell around him, encasing him in a cocoon of water, in which he could not move, or breathe. Sarura made a few more hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Implosion_." The _Water Prison_ imploded (hence the name of the jutsu), and Natsuhi dropped to the ground and was motionless. Genma went over to check his pulse, and the look on his face confirmed it…Natsuhi was dead.

"Alright, due to the death of the opponent, the winner is Sarura Kuharu!" And right at that moment, Sarura dropped. Genma walked over and checked his pulse, then summoned a team of medical ninjas to take him. They put both Sarura and Natsuhi on stretchers and went off to make room for the next match. I looked around the almost-completely destroyed arena, wondering how much more damage was going to be done to it in the next seven matches, when the name selector lit up and names flashed across it. The selector stopped at the pair:

KIBA INUZUKA

VS

ROCK LEE

I heard Kiba, who was a few feet away, say, "Uh, can I get a redo?" and his dog, Akamaru, whimpered in consent.

"No," Genma said firmly. "The pair of opponents is set, so unless you're surrendering, I suggest you get down here." The other guy, Rock Lee, jumped over the rails enthusiastically and landed square in the center of the ring. "Oh, boy," Kiba said as he reluctantly hopped down and walked to the center. Yeah, if you didn't know how strong Rock Lee was, then you weren't from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. You'll see what he can do. "Alright, you two ready?" Genma asked, looking at both of them in turn.

"I am ready," said Lee.

"Well, I guess we'd better get it over with," Kiba said, seemingly expecting the worst.

"Alright, begin!"

Lee immediately charged and leaped through the air. "_Leaf Hurricane!_" He spun through the air with his foot outstretched. Kiba jumped back to avoid him and Lee landed about five feet in front of him. "Running away is not going to do you any good, Inuzuka," Lee said, staring Kiba down.

"Yeah, well, it's better than getting my head taken off by one of your kicks," Kiba said. It didn't hit me until now that Lee and Kiba had never formally met until now, even though they were both from the same village. I knew them both, was good friends with them both, and fought them both, with mixed results.

"Very well, then," Lee said, and he charged again.

"Aagh!" Kiba screamed as he dived out of the way. Lee stopped abruptly where Kiba had been standing and turned to face him on the ground. Akamaru had fallen off Kiba's head, where he was usually perched, and stood on the ground, waiting for Kiba to make a command. "Alright then, it looks like there's no way out, boy," Kiba said to Akamaru, who barked in reply. Kiba made a hand sign and said, "_Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All Fours Jutsu!_" He fell onto all fours, his canines turned to fangs, and his fingernails turned to claws. "Now," he made a few more hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: Man-Beast Clone!_" Akamaru was engulfed in a puff of smoke, and when the smoke cleared, he was Kiba…he had used a special _Transformation Jutsu_ to turn into Kiba, so they could better coordinate their attacks.

They both charged and leaped at Lee, who just stood there. At the last second, Lee leaped into the air, and Kiba and Akamaru slid passed where he had standing, following him with their eyes. He landed on the colossal statue at the back of the arena, near the name-selector, of the ninja making a hand sign, right on top of his index finger, which was pointing upwards. "Alright, boy, let's take this showoff down," Kiba said, and Akamaru prepared to charge. They both charged at the same time and climbed the walls parallel to each other, advancing on Lee, who kept his eyes on both of them. He hopped down just as they both flew passed the spot where he had been standing, and landed on the ground. Kiba and Akamaru landed at the bases of the walls, and charged Lee again.

"_Leaf Hurricane!_" He landed his knee in one, then his foot in the other, and grabbed that guy by the shirt and threw him into the other one. They both rolled all over each other and crashed a little passed the center of the room.

They both immediately got back to their feet, and Kiba said, "Alright, boy, you know what to do next," and Akamaru prepared to charge. "_Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry:_" They both charged, then leaped into the air. They both began spiraling and were engulfed in a brown aura that I knew first-hand was every bit as fun to be hit with as a cannonball. "_FANG OVER FANG!_" Kiba screamed as they both spiraled towards Lee, ready to rip him apart.


	14. Chapter 14: The Man vs the Beast

THE MAN VS THE BEAST

"_Fang Over Fang!_" Kiba and Akamaru advanced through the air towards Lee, who leaped out of the way as they crashed into the ground where he had been standing. They tore a pretty big crater in the ground, and they re-aimed themselves upwards towards Lee, who didn't look remotely scared. He fell towards them, then swerved out of the way to avoid them and landed on the ground. Kiba and Akamaru cancelled their attacks and landed on the ceiling, staring down at Lee, who stared back up at them. Kiba and Akamaru both dropped off the wall and spiraled towards Lee again, who ran out of the way. Kiba and Akamaru both smashed into the ground, sending rubble flying in every direction. Lee had to jump back to avoid one of the bigger chunks from smashing him, and Kiba and Akamaru appeared from the dust, ready to go again.

"Yeah, look who's running now, Lee," Kiba said with an evil grin stretched across his face. "Well, you may have a point there, but that is going to end, soon," Lee said, and he prepared to attack. Kiba and Akamaru charged at the same time, and so did Lee. Kiba and Akamaru stayed on all fours, instead of using _Fang Over Fang_, and Lee was ready to beat them back. Lee leaped right in between them, making them almost crash into each other, and came to a stop at about where Kiba and Akamaru had been a second ago. The two of them turned around and charged again, ready to rip Lee apart. Lee leaped up into the air, and Kiba and Akamaru came to a stop where Lee had been and looked up at him. Lee dropped down towards them and balled his hands into fists.

Both Kiba and Akamaru pulled out shuriken and threw them up at Lee, but he barrel-rolled out of the way of them and continued to drop. They both followed him, and when he was in range, leaped up at him. Lee managed to duck one of them, but was caught in the stomach by the other, who drove him towards the ground. Lee planted both feet in his stomach, pushed him back, then yelled, "_Leaf Whirlwind!_" and kicked him in the cheek, sending him to the ground. Lee landed with the other one behind him, and jumped up, spun around, and landed his foot in his stomach, making him drop to the ground as well.

Lee landed back on the ground and pushed the guy with his foot over to near the wall, where he got back to his feet and prepared to charge again. Lee prepared himself for more, keeping both Kiba and Akamaru in his range of vision. They both charged him at the same time, from near opposite sides, and Kiba shouted, "_Fang Over Fang!_" They both charged, leaped, and spiraled towards Lee, who was perfectly ready for them. He leaped into the air again, and they both crashed into the ground where he had been standing, and then came out of the dust, heading straight towards Lee in the air. He back-flipped out of the way and dropped towards the ground head-first, and landed perfectly on his feet. Kiba and Akamaru landed on the ceiling and stared down at him.

Akamaru started barking at Kiba, more than likely giving him ideas of what to do next, and Kiba considered it. "No, we can't use that except as a last resort. All he needs to do is take off those weights and we're done for, especially if we use that jutsu," he said to him. It seemed Akamaru agreed, because he didn't argue the point any further and looked back down at Lee. "Wait, I've got an idea," Kiba said, and he whispered into Akamaru's ear. Akamaru nodded, and Kiba charged, going from the ceiling to the wall, and running straight down at Lee, who focused completely on him. "Alright, _Tunneling Fang!_" He leaped off the wall and spiraled towards Lee, while Akamaru waited on the ceiling. Lee leaped into the air again as Kiba tore past, and was blindsided by Akamaru's _Tunneling Fang_ and dropped to the ground with his shirt ripped and blood on his back. He immediately got to his feet and looked at both Kiba and Akamaru coming at him, ready to take him apart.

Lee dived forward just far enough to avoid getting hit directly, but the explosion knocked him off his feet and he hit the ground face-first. He got back to his feet and turned around to face the two of them. His head had been cracked open and was bleeding slightly (the cut wasn't very deep), and Kiba and Akamaru prepared to attack again. "You are good, Inuzuka, but you are not good enough," Lee said, and he leaped up into the air and landed on the giant statue's finger, then sat down, cross-legged. I immediately knew what was about to happen as he pulled up the legs of his sweats to reveal weights on both legs. "Get him!" Kiba yelled as both he and Akamaru sped through the air towards Lee as he took off the weights and dropped them, then got back to his feet.

The weights smashed into the ground, and brought up dust clouds twenty feet into the air, signifying just how heavy they were. Just when Kiba and Akamaru were about to hit him, he disappeared in a burst of speed, making Kiba and Akamaru tear the tips of the fingers off as they went by, and landed on the wall, which was the only wall that hadn't been touched. "Great, now we're screwed," Kiba said, as they waited for Lee to reappear again. He did, right above Kiba, and landed his fist into his jaw as he turned around, and he dropped to the ground and smashed into it, raising up dust and rubble. Akamaru backed up, but Lee landed his knee in his stomach, then spun around and landed his other leg in the side of his neck.

He was sent down smashing into the ground two feet away from Kiba, who was looking back up at Lee, ready to try and counter him when he attacked again. Akamaru appeared out of the dust in almost a mirror image of Kiba, looking up at Lee as well, who stood on the wall and waited to see what they were about to do. Finally, he dropped off the wall and fell towards the two of them, but then reconnected with the wall and disappeared. He almost immediately reappeared again from their right, knocking Kiba into Akamaru, and sending them both crashing into the wall. "_Fang Over Fang!_" They both came out of the wall, spiraling at Lee, who leaped into the air to avoid them, and they came around and shot towards him, where he was all but defenseless. Not.

He managed to climb through the air and land on the ceiling, and then speed away, making Kiba and Akamaru crash into the ceiling, bringing some of it down into the arena. Lee reappeared near the center of the arena, looking up into the hole in the wall, waiting for Kiba and Akamaru to reappear. After about thirty seconds, they both crashed up from the ground, right under Lee, and sent him through the air and smashed him into the wall. As he fell to the ground, they both landed on the wall above him and waited for him to get back to his feet. He did, and then crossed his arms in front of him.

Was he really going to resort to _that_? When he still had so many other ways to win, he was going to risk it all on _that_ jutsu? Well, then again, if that was what he was doing, he definitely had the match in the bag. "_The First Gate, Gate of Opening: Open!_" A small shockwave cracked the ground around him as the veins around his body pulsed. "Great, I was hoping to finish him before he did this," Kiba said bitterly, and Akamaru readied himself, probably to run. They both leaped off the wall as Lee tore up it, went across the ceiling, and jumped down, all at the speed of light. He smashed one of them into the ground, leaped up, slammed into the other one, drove him across the arena and smashed him into the wall, then leaped off him, embedding him further into the wall.

Lee landed near the center of the arena, to be charged by the first guy, ducked his swipe with his claws, buried his leg in his stomach, and sent him sliding into the wall. This one disappeared in a puff of smoke, and came out as Akamaru, which meant the one who was embedded in the wall was Kiba. The wall gave due to lack of support and Kiba dropped to the ground, but almost immediately got back to his feet. The veins around Lee's body subsided as his _Opening_ jutsu cancelled, and he reverted back to his normal self. He took a fighting stance and waited for Kiba to attack, which Kiba didn't do. Instead, he eyes his dog on the ground, unconscious.

[Kiba's point-of-view] _Well,_ I thought to myself as I looked at my dog, lying there on the other side of the arena. _Now would be a good time to use that jutsu, but it's too late. I'm the only one who can still stand, and that jutsu requires both of us. Oh well, guess we can chuck this one up as a loss, _and I went down on all fours and prepared to charge, even though I knew there was no point. Before I could even move, I was in the air with a foot impression in my stomach, and Lee was below me with his foot raised in the air, pointed at me. He steadied himself on his feet, and then jumped up and came behind me. He stretched his arms out, and the bandages on him came loose and flew out. He brought his arms back and the bandages started wrapping around me, making me unable to move.

Then, a kunai flew past the bandages, cutting them off, and Lee stopped moving. Blood was coming out of his mouth, and I realized that Akamaru had also landed a few kunai in his back as well. We both dropped to the ground, I landed perfectly on my feet, and Lee crash-landed, and didn't move again. I leaped over and landed near Akamaru, who had transformed back into himself and was ready to use the jutsu. At first, I thought Lee was unconscious, which really would have surprised me, considering what I've seen him endure before now, especially at the last exams. I flashed back to that day, when Lee had opened five of the eight chakra gates, which were basically chakra limiters to reduce the amount of usage, so the person could last longer. When these gates were opened, the limiters stopped and the user had full access to his chakra, increasing his power tenfold or more.

The aftereffect of this is that it leaves the user so beaten up, he's lucky to even move if he releases the first gate alone, so imagine the worst pain you've ever felt, except worse, times five, and that's what you get from opening five inner gates. Lee had used a really powerful taijutsu (jutsu involving punching and kicking) against his opponent, Gaara, and was beating him all around the arena, tearing the place apart along the way. Finally, they ended up near the center of the room, fifty feet in the air, and Lee blasted Gaara towards the ground with a well-aimed punch. He wasn't done, however, as he had secretly wrapped his bandages around Gaara's waste and reeled him in again. He sent his arm and leg forward and landed them both in Gaara's torso, smashing him into the ground, and making a dust cloud that engulfed the entire arena, balcony and all, in dust.

During this process, Lee's muscles had literally ripped themselves apart around his body, as he flew out of the subsiding dust and rolled across the ground, barely conscious. Gaara, however, was still alive and well, and in the end, he managed to beat Lee. But yeah, that's why it would have really, _really_ surprised me if he was down due to a few kunai in him. Eventually, he got back to his feet and faced me.

"Alright, boy, let's do this," I said to Akamaru, and we both ran forward. Akamaru leaped up into the air and spiraled, without using a _Tunneling Fang_, and I yelled, "_Aerial Dynamic Marking!_" Urine flew in every direction, a little bit of it landing on Lee ("Ew!"). He landed on top of my head, and I leaped into the air and made a hand sign. "_Inuzuka Style: Man-Beast Transformation Combo!_"

[Naruto's point-of-view] Kiba and Akamaru became engulfed in a huge puff of smoke that covered about half the arena. I wondered what was going to come out of the smoke when a huge paw (huge as in the size of a dumpster) crashed into the ground, stomping a crater in it. The smoke cleared to reveal a giant Akamaru with two heads that was about thirty feet tall with red eyes, leering down at Lee, who was definitely wondering if he was going to come out of this alive. "_Two-Headed Wolf!_"


	15. Chapter 15: When Two Become One

Author's Note: Relating to a note I had made in a previous chapter, it had been brought to my attention that I had in fact not changed the name of the main character (Matt Withau) in every chapter like I had meant to. This being said, I decided to search through the hole thing, and make sure that it had been changed EVERYWHERE. This involved removing, editing, and reuploading each chapter. That's why the people who subscribed to this got so many freakin emails. I'm sorry, I don't like clogging up people's inboxes if I can avoid it. Anyway, I meant to put this note on Chapter 14, but I forgot. So, I just said to hell with it and added a new one. Enjoy. And once again, sorry about all the emails. P.S., if you see any more instances where it should be Matt, but says Todd, please let me know, because I probably screwed up somewhere. Thank you.

WHEN TWO BECOME ONE

"_Inuzuka Style: Man-Beast Transformation Combo!_" Kiba and Akamaru were engulfed in a massive puff of smoke, and came out as a giant Akamaru with two heads, leering down at Lee with four red eyes. "_Two-Headed Wolf!_"

"Okay, I cannot say I was expecting that," Lee said, with a tone of slight fear in his voice, but looking determined all the same. "Wow, Naruto, you're lucky he didn't know that jutsu when you fought him," Sakura said to me, and I nodded. Kiba had been my opponent the last time I had taken the Chunin Exams.

"Man, I had no idea Kiba was that strong," I said to myself, looking at the giant two-headed dog that was ready to rip Lee apart.

"Well, regardless, Lee will still win this, no matter what," I said, thinking back to his last fight with Gaara.

"Yeah, true. Kiba must realize this. Maybe he just wants to go down fighting," Sakura said.

"I wouldn't count on that." We both turned and saw Kiba's, Hinata's, and Shino's sensei, Kurenai Yuhi.

"What do you mean, Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura asked, with me wondering the same thing.

"I mean that there's more to this jutsu than meets the eye. You're looking at a whole new Kiba and Akamaru…in fact, I would go so far as to say to expect another death soon," she said, looking at her student with a proud smile on her face.

"Okay, you did see Lee's last fight here, right? The one where he tore the entire arena apart with a single move?" I asked, wondering if she had forgotten.

"Oh, I remember full well, but…well, maybe you should just see for yourself," she said, and we both turned back to the match. Lee disappeared in a burst of speed and reappeared at Kiba's and Akamaru's left, plowing into their side, and knocking them off their feet. They crashed to the ground and Lee leaped back and landed near the base of the wall. Kiba and Akamaru got back to their feet and Lee charged again, except he wasn't going so fast that we couldn't see him.

"Nice try!" Kiba's voice rang out from the beast, as he brought his front paw up and landed it in Lee's stomach, sending him through the ceiling. After about a minute, Lee reappeared again, slamming into their back and smashing them into the ground, then leaping back up and landing about twenty feet away. The wolf got back to its feet, and Lee charged again. One of the heads dipped down and tried to take a bite at Lee, which would have eaten him whole, but Lee jumped up and landed on the wolf's back, then slid down its bottom, and would have landed perfectly on the ground if the wolf hadn't kicked its leg back and sent Lee into the wall. Lee got back to his feet like nothing had ever happened and crossed his arms again.

"_The Second Gate, Gate of Rest: Open!_" Another, larger shockwave tore more of the ground up around him, and a lot of veins pulsed around his body. He charged the wolf, once again at the speed of light, but the wolf was ready, as he leaped into the air to avoid Lee, who stopped cold and leaped up after him, landing in his stomach, and driving him into the wall near the ceiling, bringing the entire wall down as both the wolf and Lee dropped, Lee landing, the wolf crashing. The wolf got back to its feet, and Lee landed in his side, smashing him into a small chunk of wall, making it break apart and sending the wolf halfway into the other room. Just when we thought Lee had won, the wolf shot to its feet, charged Lee, grabbed him with one mouth, and drove him across the arena and into the opposite wall, bringing it down as the wolf backed out to avoid the rubble with Lee still in his mouth.

He tossed Lee up into the ceiling, and Lee dropped back down and smashed into the ground, then was hit with small chunks of the ceiling that had fallen. The wolf sniffed him to see if he was still alive, and got a kick to the nose which knocked him back and landed him on the wall, Kiba grunting and Akamaru yelping in pain. Lee crossed his arms again and I knew this fight was over. "_The Third Gate, Gate of Life: Open!_" A considerably larger shockwave cracked the ground as bursts of chakra surrounded Lee. His muscles got bigger, and his veins grew and became more numerous. But also, his skin turned red, and his eyes became pupil-less.

"_Wolf Fang Over Fang!_" The wolf charged forwards, spiraling so fast that the ground under him tore itself apart on his way to Lee, who leaped into the air, leaving dust in his wake. He hit the ceiling and waited for the wolf to come up and shoot towards him. Lee dropped towards the wolf and raised his fist, ready to land it in the wolf's nose. They both connected, and the resulting shockwave cracked every bit of untouched balcony and sent about half of it to the ground. The two of them were both stuck in the air, trying to make the other's attack break, when Lee lost and fell to the side of the wolf, who's attack cut him in several different places and sent him spiraling towards the ground. He crashed into it, and the wolf landed ten feet away, ready to finish him. Lee struggled to his knees and looked at the wolf, requiring answers.

"The _Wolf Fang Over Fang_. We spin so fast that we can't even see, which is why we marked you earlier," I flashed back to when Akamaru had marked Lee, and realized what he was talking about. They were tracking Lee by scent, not sight.

"That…is a fearsome jutsu indeed," Lee said, panting heavily from all of the pain that the release of those three gates was causing him.

"Yeah, well," said Kiba, both heads panting just as heavily, "in the meantime, good luck in the third exam," and the wolf was engulfed in a huge puff of smoke, and when it cleared, Kiba and Akamaru were standing there, their eyes half-open. At the same time, they both keeled over and passed out. The veins all over Lee's body subsided, his skin became white, and pupils returned to his eyes. He looked over at Genma, who was back in the arena.

"The winner is Rock Lee!" Lee keeled over, laying flat on his back and started laughing, something he really deserved after what he had been through. He laughed for almost a whole minute, then panted a few times, and finally passed out.

"Before we go on to the next match, Lady Hokage, there's something I'd like to address first," Genma said, looking up at Grandma Tsunade.

"Would it have anything to do with the state of the arena?" She asked with a sly smile on her face.

Genma smiled too and said, "Exactly. I think it would be a good idea to move everyone to the arena up above," he suggested, and Tsunade nodded.

"Alright, everyone, please make your way up one floor to the arena above, and we will continue the preliminaries there." While the medical ninja put Kiba and Lee on stretchers, everyone hopped down and went into the hallway, climbed a flight of stairs, and into the arena above, which was exactly the same as the one before, except with much less damage. In fact, the only damage that had been done to it was when Kiba and Akamaru came crashing up through this floor and went out through the walls to attack Lee from below. The name-selector opened up as everyone went onto the balcony and stopped at:

TEMARI

VS

NARUTO UZUMAKI

"Alright!" I said, as I hopped down and ran towards the center of the arena. Temari, a sand genin whom I knew kinda well, and was Gaara's older sister, also made her way to the center of the arena to face me.

"Alright, begin!" said Genma, who leaped up and landed on the balcony.

"Good luck to you, Naruto," Temari said, and I nodded. She was armed with a five-foot-long fan at her belt, which she pulled out and unfolded. I leaped backwards, and she waved the fan, sending a gust of wind at me that I couldn't avoid. I was blown away and smacked into the wall, then slid down and to the ground, where I sat there, recovering my senses.

"_Wind Scythe Jutsu!_" She waved her fan again and sent another wave of wind at me, which I knew was laced with wind-blades that would cut me to ribbons. I got to my feet and ran out of the way as the wind smashed into the wall, making a dust cloud and embedding several incisions in it. I drew out a kunai and threw it at her, but she raised her fan and used it as a shield to block it.

I made a hand sign and said, "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Four clones of myself appeared out of puffs of smoke, running alongside me, and we all drew four shuriken each. Two of them leaped into the air while the rest of us stayed on the ground, and we all threw our shuriken at her. She smiled and sent another wave of wind at them that blew them all out of the air.

"Come on, Naruto, I know you can do better than that!" she said, as she prepared to send another wave of wind at us, but waiting for the right chance. We all changed direction and charged her with kunai, and she said, "That's more like it." She folded up her fan and waited for us to come, and when we did, three of us leaped over her and landed behind her, and charged again. She embedded the edge of her fan into one of the clones' stomach, then slammed him in the side of the face with the other end, sending him towards the wall. He disappeared in a puff of smoke halfway over there, which left four more of us. She brought the fan up over her head, unfolded it, and slammed it on the ground, sending a wave of wind into two of the clones, blowing them back and making them roll across the ground.

She folded up the fan again and landed it in the final clone's stomach behind her, then spun around, unfolding her fan along the way, and blasted him back with a gust of wind that sent him into the corner of the arena, where he too disappeared in a puff of smoke. She turned around and my fist landed in her jaw, and she flew five feet away and landed on the ground. The other two clones joined me and we prepared to charge again. She got back to her feet and said, "_Wind Scythe Jutsu!_" and shot another gust of wind at us, that took out both of the clones and blew me into the wall. I got back to my feet and ran out of the way of another wave of wind that brought more dust off the wall.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Two more clones appeared out of puffs of smoke and followed me. Eventually, we all charged Temari, who shot a gust of wind at us that we all jumped. She placed her fan in front of her as a shield, which I connected to with my fist. The clones landed on either side of her, ready to beat her back.

She spun her fan in a circle around her, reminiscent of Neji's _Rotation_, and said, "_Wind Style: Wind Wall!_" A tornado formed around her, blasting us all back, destroyed both clones, and slamming me into a wall. I got back to my feet and made a hand sign.

"_Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" A massive puff of smoke engulfed the entire floor of the arena, and when it cleared, Temari gasped and looked all around her. Surrounding her was about a hundred _Shadow Clones_, all looking at her, all ready to attack.


	16. Chapter 16: Wind Fight

WIND FIGHT

"Well, I knew this was gonna happen eventually," she said as she looked around at the roughly one-hundred clones staring at her. We all drew kunai, and she waved her fan, blowing away the nearest five. Several more charged her, and she waved her fan above her, swung it around in a circle above her head, which made a twister up to the ceiling, and brought the twister down on top of us and took out about ten clones, but left plenty more. We all charged her, and some of us leaped on top of her, and grabbed her to hold her in place. She tried to struggle, but the clones that had leaped at her punched her in the face and stomach, and she immediately stopped moving. The clones in front of me cleared a path, and I held out my hand to the one next to me. He ran both of his hands around mine, building up chakra for my next jutsu. "_Rasengan!_"

A ball of chakra appeared in my hand, spinning like a mini-tornado. I charged forward with my strongest jutsu, headed straight for Temari, who just stood there, held captive by the clones. Once I was five feet from her, she smiled and said, "Nice try!" She broke loose with the arm holding her fan, then spun around, making a wave of wind that blew me, along with about twenty-five clones off our feet and smashing into the ground or walls. My attack was cancelled, and I got back to my feet, wondering what I was going to do next. "_Wind Scythe Jutsu!_" She blew away a dozen clones, and a dozen more charged her. She leaped up into the air, and sent a wave of wind down at the clones below her, which were all engulfed in dust. Every single one of us threw shuriken up at her, but she blocked them all with her fan and sent another tornado onto the ground. She put her fan under her and sat on it, slowly gliding towards the ground while the tornado blew my clones away, destroying all but about a dozen of them.

She landed and folded up her fan, ready to take on the rest of the clones, all of which had charged her. She embedded the end of the fan in the first clone's stomach, then brought her fan behind her, over her head, unfolded it, and brought it down on the clones. A shockwave tore up the ground, destroying all of the clones, and would have hit me too, if I hadn't rolled out of the way and let it smash into the wall. She sent another gust of wind at me, which blew me into the wall, and almost knocked me out. I got back to my feet, expecting to get blown off them again, but Temari didn't do anything except look at me. I made the same hand sign and said, "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Two clones appeared and charged. She blew them away with a wave of her fan, and they tumbled across the ground and near the wall.

It wasn't until I was behind her that she realized I was gone, and I landed my fist in the back of her head, sending her five feet across the ground and making her drop her fan, which clattered a foot away from her body. It took a second, but she eventually got to her feet and picked up her fan, then used it to block my fist, and embedded the end of it in my stomach, making me spit out blood and knocking me senseless. She took her fan out of my stomach, and I dropped to my knees, hugging my stomach in pain. "_Wind Scythe Jutsu!_" I was blown all the way across the arena and slammed into the wall, and the blades from the _Wind Scythe_ had cut me up in a few different places, so I was now bleeding all over the place along with probably having a concussion.

"Come on, is the guy who almost beat _Sasuke _really this weak?" Temari taunted me. At these words, I rose to my feet, ready to beat her to a bloody pulp for raising the subject of my failure to beat Sasuke. I charged forward, and leaped up into the air when Temari sent another gust of wind at me. I dropped towards her with my fist raised, and she raised her fan in a shield to defend. I landed on the ground right in front of her, then ran to her side, around her fan. I tried to punch her, but she moved her fan in front of me to block me again. The fan was as hard as metal, which meant it cracked my knuckles open, and stained her fan. I leaped over her and landed behind her, then punched her in the back and knocked her off her feet. I waited for her to get up, and when she did, she got to her knees and reached for her fan.

I tried to stop her, but she got to her feet and swung her fan, blowing me close to the edge of the arena. I got back to my feet and found the edge of her fan in my stomach. I stepped back, and she landed the other end of her fan right in my face, breaking my nose, and spattering blood all over the ground and my clothes. I landed on my back and she slammed the end of her fan into my stomach, making me spit out blood and almost lose consciousness. She took her fan out of my stomach and slammed it on the ground, waiting for me to get back to my feet. I finally managed to get back to my knees, and was blown across the arena and slammed into the wall, spitting out more blood. I got back to my feet and made the sign. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_"

Three clones appeared at my sides, and I formed a _Rasengan_ with one, and the other two formed one with each other. We all charged Temari, who raised her fan with a smile and sent another gust of wind at us. We all used our chakra to stick to the ground, and managed to keep coming towards her. "Oh, smart," she said, and she leaped up and landed on the wall. We all leaped up and landed on the wall, our _Rasengans_ still in tact, and kept charging her. "Persistent, are we?" she said, and she waved her fan and formed a tornado on the wall. The two clones rushed forward and connected with the tornado. The tornado dispersed, sending wind in every direction, and the _Rasengan_ was diminished.

I still had my _Rasengan_, so I charged forward and Temari raised her fan to block me. Since it was made of metal, it held against the _Rasengan_, but only barely. Temari was forced to let go of it and it fell to the ground, which gave me full opportunity to finish her with what was left of the _Rasengan_. She leaped off the wall, and flew over about twenty feet and landed on the ground. The _Rasengan_ disappeared and I pulled out a kunai, then leaped down after her. She didn't have her fan, so she pulled out a kunai and used it to parry my slash. I landed on the ground, our kunai still connected, until she eventually ducked me and buried her fist into my stomach. I spat out more blood and stepped back, trying to avoid her, but she shot at me and landed her fist in my jaw, knocking me back and landing me flat on my back.

I tried to get up, but she slammed the end of her fan in my stomach, making me spit out more blood, and rendering me unable to move. After I coughed up blood a couple more times, I realized that at least two of my ribs were broken…probably more, considering how many times she had hit me. She kept her fan in my stomach, so I couldn't get to my feet or counterattack. Finally, I kicked the fan off of me, knocking it out of her hand, and shot to my feet and drove myself into her stomach. I pushed her all the way across the arena and slammed her into the wall, making her spit out blood, and when I let go of her, she dropped to a sitting position, leaning against the wall. I backed up so I could try to dodge another attack, but she didn't seem to have any intention of that.

Eventually, she got back to her feet, but I didn't go after her again, so she could have a fair chance to fight back. She grabbed her fan. But before she could wave it, I jumped up into the air, and she had to use it to block my kick, and then waved it to knock me back. I landed on my feet and charged her with a kunai, but she waved her fan, and I was blown off my feet and sent rolling across the ground. I rolled tight back on to my feet, and leaped out of the way of another gust of wind, and landed right in front of her. She blocked my punch with the side of her fan, and I ducked around it and landed my other fist in her bottom jaw and she floated upwards a foot or two.

I took the opportunity to bury my fist in her stomach, making her spit out blood, and then I spun around and landed my foot in her jaw, sending her spinning into the ground, her fan clattering away from her. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" A single clone appeared next to me and we formed a _Rasengan_. I slammed it down on her, but she flipped backwards and jumped up to the wall, making my _Rasengan _punch a crater into the ground. Both my clone and myself pulled out kunai and jumped up after her. She pulled out a kunai of her own. And managed to block the both pf us, sending us to either side of her, then taking out my clone, and afterwards parrying my slash. She threw my hand up, grabbed the underside of my arm, and heaved me up over her head, and threw me into the ground.

She leaped down on me and almost took my head off, but I managed to jump back, and she charged me again and slashed at me several times, all of which I managed to dodge. I finally had to jump over her and kick her to the ground, then get on top of her and pin her, so she couldn't move. I thought I had her, but she wrenched out of my grip, flipped over, and kicked me off of her, sending me near the base of a wall so she could go get her fan. After massaging my head, I got up and went after her, but she slammed me in the jaw with the side of her fan, then spun around, opening it along the way, and blew me into the wall, twenty feet off the ground. I slid down and landed hard on my butt, making me not want to get up again.

I finally had to so I could run from the gust of wind Temari had sent at me, that was so strong, I was surprised it didn't crack the wall. When I was out of the way, I charged her and pulled out four shuriken. Right when she was about to blow me away, I threw the shuriken in an attempt to stop her, but she just kept going, blowing the shuriken away right along with me. I slammed back into the wall, but immediately got back up, and cast a shadow clone, which stood next to me, and we formed a _Rasengan_. "Come on, that combo again? Don't you have any other tricks up your sleeve?" she asked as she sent another gust of wind at me. I leaped it, but my clone didn't and was blown into the wall, where he sat there, waiting to see what I was about to do.

I came down on her with the _Rasengan_, and she used her open fan to block it, which still held, and this time, she used both hands to hold on to it so she wouldn't lose her grip. After about fifteen seconds, "_Rasengan!_" She gasped and looked behind her at saw the two clones, who had made a _Rasengan_ themselves, and put it right into her back. I dived out of the way as she went spiraling into the wall, with her shirt ripped and burns all over her back from impact. Somehow, she was still conscious, so she said, "Wait a minute, when did you do that? I was watching you the whole time, you never sent any clones back there!"

"Well, what do you notice is missing?" I asked. It took her a minute, but then she realized it.

"The clone you just made to attack me with…it never disappeared," she said with dawning comprehension on her face. "While I was trying to block your jutsu and wasn't focused on anything but, that clone snuck behind me and cast a clone jutsu itself, and then formed a _Rasengan_ to hit me from behind with. That was…ingenious, to the point where I would only expect it from one person," and she looked up to the balcony in the direction of Shikamaru, who was a village-famous strategist with an IQ of over two-hundred.

"Ha-ha! Yeah, it's incredible what you can come up with when you actually use your brain, huh?"

She laughed a little herself and said, "Yes, I certainly underestimated you…well, anyway, good luck in the third exam," she said, and she passed out. Genma landed back in the arena and said, "Alright, the winner is Naruto Uzumaki!"


	17. Chapter 17: Mysterious Shadows

MYSTERIOUS SHADOWS

The name-selector flashed the names of the remaining test-takers, and stopped on:

HATSUJI KORERO

VS

CHOJI AKIMICHI

"Alright, Choji, it's all you," Shikamaru said to his teammate.

Choji seemed much more confident than last time when he said, "Right!" He was too 'chubby', as he liked to be called, to jump over the rails, so he had to walk down the stairs and went over to meet the other guy, Hatsuji, who was a genin from the Village Hidden in the Stones.

"Good luck to you, Choji Akimichi," he said kindly, but not without air of confidence. The way he spoke; it sent chills down my spine, like he was an evil presence hidden in the body of this innocent genin. That told me one thing: this guy was no one Choji was going to win against.

Choji, noticing nothing, said "Thanks, you too!"

Genma stepped forward and said, "Alright, begin!"

Choji made a hand sign and said, "_Expansion Jutsu!_" He was engulfed in a puff of smoke, and came out as about ten feet tall, and completely spherical, aside from the arms, legs, and head. I knew what was coming next, and I had a feeling Mr. Creepy-guy wasn't going to like it. Choji made another hand sign and said, "_Human Boulder!_" His arms, legs, and head retracted into his oversized body, and he rolled towards Hatsuji, much like a ball that was perfectly capable of flattening Hatsuji.

Hatsuji, however, looked completely unconcerned as he up his fist and said, "_Boulder Breaker!_" He aimed his fist at Choji, and almost completely buried his arm into him when he threw it forward. Choji became engulfed in a puff of smoke, and when he came out, he was his normal self again, with his stomach hooked onto Hatsuji's arm. Hatsuji grabbed Choji by the neck of the shirt with the other arm and said, "Well, well, is this all the honorable Akimichi Clan has to offer? I have to say, you weren't really any fun." Choji, who was in too much pain to move, merely hung there, staring through half-opened eyes at Hatsuji, who then grabbed him at the stomach and threw him all the way across the arena into the wall, which he busted right through, and we couldn't see him anymore.

I figured the match was over when, "_Spiky Human Boulder!_" Choji came rolling out of the wall, except this time, he was using a bunch of kunai as spikes all around his body to increase his damage as he came at Hatsuji again.

Hatsuji leaped out of the way, and said, "Oh, it seems the Akimichi clan possesses _some_ talent after all. Well, this should make things more interesting, then, shouldn't it?" Choji reverted back to his normal form, and grabbed the kunai, which were all on a tripwire, and swung them around, then threw them all off the wire, sending them straight at Hatsuji, who pulled out a kunai of his own. I thought there could be no way he could block the twenty-something knives that were flying at him, but he knocked every single one of them out of the air like it was nothing. This guy had used _one_ jutsu, and he was still beating Choji into the ground. And believe it or not, Choji was actually a pretty descent fighter.

"Great, well, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again," Choji said. He held out his arm and said, "_Partial Expansion Jutsu!_" He shot his arm, which enlarged and stretched, straight at Hatsuji, who sidestepped it and grabbed Choji's arm, then swung it around and dragged Choji through the air, slamming him into the wall of the arena. His arm retracted back into the dust cloud, and a moment later, Choji came charging out again, his other fist enlarged to the size of a trashcan. Hatsuji just sidestepped it again and grabbed Choji by the neck of the shirt, then threw him back into the wall, probably almost breaking his back. Choji just sat there motionlessly, staring at his feet. He was still breathing, so he wasn't dead, but he seemed to have lost all his confidence. Finally, he got a determined look back on his face, then looked up at Hatsuji, who seemed all the more amused.

"Well, I didn't want to have to use this so early in the fight, but it doesn't look like I have a choice in the matter," Choji said, and he closed his eyes. About five seconds later, something appeared from the ground and flew up and around Choji. It was tiny and florescent blue. When I looked at it more closely, I realized it was a butterfly, made entirely out of chakra. Several more appeared out of the ground, and then they came out in swarms, almost obscuring Choji completely. When the butterflies cleared, Choji was on his feet, and I gasped at what I saw. Instead of fat and barely able to stand, he was ridiculously skinny and standing tall. And when I say skinny, I mean it looked like he had lost literally about a hundred pounds. The other thing that kept my mouth open were the wings on his back. They were butterfly wings made entirely out of chakra.

"Oh, well, this is certainly getting interesting," Hatsuji said, unfazed. He held his fist out again and charged. Choji flew at him at the speed of light, and would have pounded him through the ground, but Hatsuji got around him and landed his fist right into Choji's stomach. Choji stopped dead in his tracks, and a shockwave tore up the ground, probably an inch away from the arena below. Blood was spilling out of Choji's mouth, and he dropped to his knees when Hatsuji took his arm out of Choji's stomach.

"Choji!" Shikamaru screamed, helpless to save his comrade. His chakra-wings disappeared, and before he could even fully recover, Hatsuji kicked him in the face, and sent him sliding across the arena and smashing into the wall. The dust cleared and Choji was unconscious…Hatsuji had won.

"Alright, the winner is Hatsuji Korero." The medical ninja ran over, put Choji on a stretcher, and ran off to make way for the next match. The name-selector stopped at:

GAARA

VS

MEIDASHI TSUYAKUMO

"Wait, Gaara!" I said, looking at his older brother and squad mate, Kankuro, who was standing right next to me.

"Yeah, I guess Gaara only told you one side of the story, huh?" he said, looking grim. "The truth is, Gaara was only made _temporary_ Kazekage, to give them time to find a permanent one," he told me. When he saw the look on my face, he said, "And that's not the worst of it. The only reason they made him temp is because they want him gone. They're hoping someone from a foreign land might take the opportunity to infiltrate and assassinate him, to get him out of the village's hair." My jaw dropped.

"Are you…serious?" I said, barely able to speak.

"I'm dead serious. Although, the truth is the truth. The only ones to this day who have been able to touch him are you and Sasuke Uchiha. And you two are _way_ more famous throughout the ninja world than Gaara. This throws a clear sign of suicide to any would-be assassins. Not a single attempt has been made on Gaara's life, which, needless to say, has made the elders of the Sand less than pleased."

"Well, good, they deserve it for trying to pull that!" I said bitterly, almost refusing to believe that anyone could be so cruel.

"Well, the fact remains, Gaara's almost completely untouchable, so this guy doesn't stand a chance," he said, looking at the Waterfall named Meidashi, who was walking to the center of the arena with Gaara, who was already there.

"Alright, begin!" said Genma, who then jumped out of the way. Gaara stretched his arms out on either side of him, and sand came out, floating in midair at Gaara's bidding, ready to do whatever he wanted it to.

"Gaara of the Desert, right?" Meidashi said, referring to Gaara's nickname. "I've heard stories about you, stories that have kept me awake at night, unable to imagine the sheer power you possess. But then, I realized how your sand works, and I knew I would be the one to beat you. Allow me to introduce myself!" He held out his hands in the same way that Gaara did, and water poured out of his sleeves, floating in midair, just like Gaara's sand. "Meidashi of the Ocean!"

He pointed his arms at Gaara and the water shot at him like a huge projectile. Gaara's sand came together to form a wall in front of him, which blocked the water from smashing him. The water wetted down the sand, and when Gaara tried to turn it into a projectile of his own, it traveled in big clumps, and wasn't as effective as it normally was. "You see, my water works in the exact same way as your sand. I can make it do anything I want it to, and now that your sand has been all but neutralized, I won't have any trouble taking you down. It's my kekkei-genkai, you see." He held out his arms, and more water poured from his sleeves, that floated in the air around him. Gaara looked like he could only agree with Meidashi, but then, he smiled.

"Your's is a fearsome jutsu indeed, and normally, you'd be right, a sand jutsu would stand no chance, but…." He rose his arm, up, and water sprayed from his sand, raining on the ground. When the water stopped, Gaara's sand was perfectly dry, and just as functional as it was to begin with. "My sand is influenced with my chakra, unlike some random sand jutsu found anywhere in the Sand. I can do whatever I want with it, and if it gets wet, I can pour my chakra into it to expel the water molecules and make it good as new," he explained.

"This could be a lot harder than I thought," Meidashi said, his water orbiting him. They both shot their respective projectiles at each other, which collided in midair, neither one giving in. Finally, the sand got around the water, with enough to keep it at bay, and shot straight at Meidashi. "You wanna know the leading difference between your sand and my water?" Meidashi said. "I can always make more!" More water poured out of his sleeves and formed a wall against the sand, which the sand couldn't penetrate. More water shot around the sand and headed straight for Gaara, who's sand was busy keeping the rest of the water at bay. He leaped out of the way and the water smashed to the ground.

He stretched his arm out towards the sand and it left the water and some of it formed a cloud under his feet which he used to stand on, while the rest orbited around him, waiting for Meidashi to attack. All of the water Meidashi created rose up and shot straight at Gaara, who didn't have nearly enough sand to defend himself.


	18. Chapter 18: Two of a Kind

TWO OF A KIND

Gaara's sand and Meidashi's water collided in midair, trying to get passed the other one. Gaara's sand finally got around the water and went straight for Meidashi, who created a wall of water to block the sand. He made some more water which shot straight at Gaara, who leaped out of the way and brought his sand up to help him. A cloud formed under his feet for him to stand on, while the rest of it floated around him, ready to attack or defend. Meidashi summoned all of the water he had created around the arena and sent it all shooting up at Gaara. He shot up out of the way with the help of his sand-cloud, and said, "_Sand Shuriken!_" The sand around him formed small balls a little bigger than shuriken and shot at Meidashi at the speed of light. He formed a wall of water that stopped the sand dead in its tracks, and Gaara dried it out and brought it all back up towards him, in case Meidashi tried to attack him again.

Instead, Meidashi just kept his water floating around him, for when Gaara tried to attack him. After a few seconds of the both of them just standing there, Meidashi shot all of his water up at Gaara in small bursts, like torpedoes. This wasn't a great idea, seeing as Gaara managed to block them all, and then expel all of the water out of the sand, which rained on the ground. Before Meidashi could recover his water, Gaara shot all of his sand that wasn't in the cloud down at him, but to no avail, since Meidashi created a wall of water to block the sand. Gaara, however, had gotten smarter, as he made his sand go around the wall and attack Meidashi from both sides. Meidashi stretched his arms out on either side of him and formed two more walls of water, which connected with the first, and went all around his body in a dome that Gaara's sand couldn't penetrate.

Gaara finally retracted his sand and made it float around him, waiting for Meidashi to attack. Finally, the dome exploded, and three dragon-shaped streams of water shot at Gaara. Gaara flew further in the air to avoid the dragons, but they all followed him, ready to knock him right out of the air. Gaara didn't have enough sand to block all of that water, so he had to resort to flying out of the way. When he did, one of the dragons crashed into the ceiling, bringing a portion of it down into the arena, but the other two kept on coming. Gaara steadied himself about five feet from the wall, and when he moved, a second dragon crashed into it, punching a crater in it. Finally, Gaara floated near the ground, then shot up towards the ceiling, sending the final dragon crashing into the ground. Gaara flew down and pointed the bottom of his sand-cloud at Meidashi, shooting three more _Sand Shuriken_.

Meidashi formed a shield to block the sand, but Gaara summoned the sand back, and made it fly around the shield, and attempt to hit Meidashi from the sides. Meidashi separated the shield in half and sent them on either side of him to block the shuriken. While he had been distracted with that, Gaara shot ten more _Sand Shuriken_ at him with the other sand, and left Meidashi with no reaction time. He tried to defend himself, but all of the shuriken got around his defenses and hit him in the torso and thighs. His water splashed to the ground as he lost his balance and fell on his back, and didn't get back up. Gaara jumped off his sand-cloud and summoned all of his sand around the arena, then converged it over Meidashi, who still didn't move.

The sand smashed him, sending rubble flying in every direction, and I knew that Gaara had won. He retracted all of his sand and orbited it around him, as if he wasn't entirely sure he had won. The dust cleared, and Meidashi was gone, like he had never been there to begin with. "Wait, where'd he go?" I said, and Sakura shook her head. Finally, something came out of Gaara's orbiting sand and started collecting in the air right in front of him. He looked just as surprised as anyone else in the arena. As the ball got bigger, I realized it was water. The water took the shape of a human and exploded, knocking Gaara off his feet while Meidashi landed on his and walked over.

He formed some more water that orbited around him for when Gaara counterattacked. None of us noticed when it happened, but Gaara had quietly sneaked his sand across the ground, under Meidashi's water, and then crawled up his legs, keeping him attached to the ground. The rest of the sand shot up and stuck around Meidashi's entire body except for his face, encasing him in a cocoon of sand. "_Sand Coffin!_" Gaara said, getting to his feet with his hand stretched at Meidashi. "_Sand Burial!_" Gaara enclosed his hand in a fist, and the sand around Meidashi tightened around his body, crushing him into water. That made me unsure rather Gaara had won or not. The water kept floating around in the air, which meant that Meidashi was still alive and well. The water shot at Gaara like bullets, but he still managed to form a wall to block them.

Gaara expelled the water and sent the wall of sand at Meidashi as _Sand Shuriken_, who formed a wall of water to block them. Gaara brought his sand back and waited for Meidashi to attack. "_Water Shuriken!_" Meidashi converted his wall into a bunch of balls of water that shot at Gaara, who formed a sand-shield to block them.

"_Sand Shuriken!_" Gaara pretty much reflected Meidashi's attack right back at him, but instead of water, it was sand that shot at him. Meidashi leaped out of the way and formed a cloud of water under his feet which he stood on, exactly like Gaara.

"Man, it's like I'm watching a couple of clones," I said to Sakura.

"I know, they both use the same style of attacks. This keeps up, and we're gonna be here for a while," Sakura agreed.

Meidashi and Gaara sent a stream of each of their respective substances at each other, and the both of them collided in midair, neither of them giving way for the other one to attack. Meidashi sent another stream of water from his other hand straight at Gaara, who's concentration broke, along with his sand-stream. Both streams of water shot straight at him, but Gaara didn't move a muscle. The sand shot up and formed a wall in front if him, blocking the streams of water. The water rained out of the sand and shot back to Meidashi, orbiting him to wait for Gaara. "_Sand Shuriken!_" He shot some more balls of sand at Meidashi, who formed a wall of water to block them. While he had been distracted with that, Gaara exploded in a burst of sand and was gone.

The sand traveled around behind Meidashi, who was too busy looking around the rest of the arena to notice. Gaara appeared there and landed three _Sand Shuriken_ into Meidashi's back, knocking him out of the air and making all of his water splash to the ground. He tried to get back to his feet, but Gaara smashed him back to the ground with a stream of sand, which then took the shape of a hand around his torso and lifted him up, then threw him into the wall, nearly knocking him through it. Meidashi slid back to the ground, and looked like he couldn't get back up. Gaara created two more sand-streams, and the three of them all shot at Meidashi, who rose his hands and escaped from view due to the sand. The streams crashed into the ground and engulfed a twenty-foot area in dust, and sending rubble flying.

The sand went back to Gaara, and when the dust cleared, Meidashi was a sorry sight. He was bruised, and his clothes were ripped, and there was a cut above his eye that dripped blood onto the ground. "Why don't you surrender?" Gaara said, staring down at Meidashi with his arms folded, his sand circling him.

"Because," Meidashi said, "I said I would be the one to beat you, and I plan to prove it!" He summoned all of his water to his aid, and it orbited him on standby, waiting for Meidashi to make his next move.

"Very well then," Gaara said, sending five thin streams of sand at Meidashi, who formed a dome around him which blocked the sand. The sand went back to Gaara, and the dome exploded, sending about thirty _Water Shuriken_ up at Gaara, who formed a shield to block them all. The water in the sand rained on the ground, and Gaara shot all of the sand in one huge arm at Meidashi, whose water was too slow to come to his aid. The sand-arm hit him and drove him through the ground and into the arena below. Gaara brought the sand up back through the hole, but there was no one in it…not even a dead body. Gaara reduced the sand into a shapeless cloud, which would have allowed Meidashi to drop to the ground, but there was no one there.

"Gaara!" Kankuro yelled from beside me. A hand made of water grabbed Gaara from behind and pulled him back, smashing him into the wall behind him. Gaara dropped to the ground and the water-hand converted into a human-shape, and Meidashi appeared. His legs were still a cloud of water, which enabled him to float in the air and look down at Gaara, who was still getting back to his feet. When I saw his face, I saw that there were cracks all over his skin, like his body itself was about to shatter. But anyone who knew Gaara or had ever fought him knew that this was his last-resort defense, in case anyone penetrated his loose sand that he used to form shields and projectiles with.

You see, the deal with this sand is, Gaara isn't controlling it. It moves of its own free will, almost like a living thing. It will come to Gaara's aid whenever he's being attacked, and shield him from the blow completely. It's a special jutsu that only Gaara has, and the reason even he has it is because while his mother was giving birth to him, his father, for some reason, felt it fit to seal a demon inside of him. This demon is called the Shukaku, and it's like a huge raccoon-shaped monster that can manipulate sand, and since it was sealed inside Gaara, Gaara now has this power as well. In the event that this sand is penetrated, Gaara can also use it as armor, to protect himself from the attack that gets by it. That's why Gaara is so invincible. That's why the only people who have ever been able to touch him are me and my former teammate Sasuke Uchiha.

Gaara was now on his feet, and the cracks in his armor were repairing themselves, ready to take the next batch of punishment that breaks Gaara's shield. Gaara raised his hand at Meidashi, and a fist made of sand collided into Meidashi's back, knocking him out of the air, and making him crash into the ground, his legs taking their regular shape. Gaara sent the fist and the rest of his sand down at Meidashi, and consumed his entire body, just like before. "_Sand Coffin!_" Gaara rose his hand further into the air, and the sand-cocoon that contained Meidashi rose with it. It stopped at the very epicenter of the arena, and Gaara closed his hand into a fist. "_Sand Burial!_" The sand crushed Meidashi into oblivion, and the match was won. Right after I thought this, water leaked out of the sand, trickling onto the ground.

Then, leaks opened all over the cocoon, and I realized that Meidashi wasn't dead. The cocoon exploded in a wave of water and Meidashi was there, floating in the air without support. Water was spiraling around his body, then pooling on the ground, flooding the arena. I noticed that the water was pooling behind Meidashi, as if an invisible dam were blocking it. Then, the water rose up in a huge wave, over Meidashi's head and close to the ceiling, ready to smash Gaara with everything it had. Meidashi had created a tsunami.


	19. Chapter 19: The Desert and Ocean Collide

Author's note: Let me take a moment to tell you a little bit about Naruto Chronicles. First off, it's basically a new, spin-off series (just not by the original author). I am currently working on Chapter 94. So, if really long stories tend to frighten you, please feel free to back away now. If you choose to keep reading, awesome! Also, instead of looking at it as a book, I would suggest looking at it more as a TV show to really understand its storyline. I have the series divided into sections which are dubbed as seasons (like many television shows out there, aside from anime), and each one is averagely twenty-five chapters long. With that said, we are nearing the season finale of season one. Season one is in five chapters (meaning Chapter 24), and will be posted tentatively on June 4th. After the season finale, I will stop posting for exactly four weeks in order to give myself time to get ahead of the game. Just some trivial knowledge that will help you understand my mindset; now, back to the action.

THE DESERT AND OCEAN COLLIDE

"_Sand Coffin!_" Gaara's sand consumed Meidashi's entire body, without leaving room for air. Gaara got to his feet and rose his hand further in the air, making the sand-cocoon rise with it. "_Sand Burial!_" Gaara closed his hand into a fist and the sand cocoon crushed Meidashi into oblivion, throwing Gaara the match. Just then, a leak sprung in the sand-cocoon, and water trickled on the ground. Then, a dozen more leaks sprung all over the cocoon, and it was clear that Meidashi was still alive. The sand-cocoon exploded, revealing Meidashi with water spiraling around his entire body. The water pooled on the ground, flooding the arena, but only behind Meidashi. Finally, the water came up in one huge wave that went up close to the ceiling and came down at Gaara; Meidashi had created a tsunami.

"This isn't good," Gaara said, staring up at the tsunami as it dropped on top of him. The wave hit him, and when the water cleared, Gaara was inside a sand-cocoon to defend himself. It would have been a good idea, but the tsunami was wetting down the sand faster than Gaara could dry it, so the cocoon was cracking, and Gaara was in trouble. He leaped out of the hole in the roof and summoned a cloud to support him before he could dry it, so he had to dodge the streams of water Meidashi sent at him while he dried it. When that sand was perfectly dry, Gaara summoned the rest of it to his aid and dried it out as well. "_Sand Shuriken!_"

Three balls of sand shot at Meidashi, but he raised his hand and a wave of water shot up from below and blocked the balls, making them drop into the raging water below. Gaara summoned it back up and dried it out, then added it to the cloud surrounding him, waiting for Meidashi to attack. Meidashi raised his hands at Gaara and three large streams of water shot up at him, but were too slow for Gaara's sand, which effectively blocked all three. The water in the sand rained back into the raging lake, which shot up three more streams of water that, instead of blocking, Gaara shot out of the way of. He then sent a stream shaped like an arm down at Meidashi, who sent a bigger arm of water to counter it. The water engulfed the sand completely and sent it raining into the lake.

Gaara tried to dodge it, but the water followed him and engulfed his torso, then converged and engulfed his entire body in a sphere that left him unable to breathe. "Gaara!" Kankuro screamed again, looking helplessly up at his brother. Meidashi had his hand pointed up at the sphere, and lowered his hand, making the sphere drop and bring Gaara right into the lake. The water splashed around, coming down with probably hundreds and thousands of pounds of pressure per wave, and I seriously didn't know rather Gaara could hold out, or even survive. He was moving too fast for me to tell, but it looked like he was changing, like he was transforming. This was certainly not beyond the realm of possibility. I had witnessed him do this before, but was it because he had no other choice and needed the extra strength, or because he had lost control?

Regardless, my suspicions had been confirmed as Gaara shot out of the water, and he had indeed transformed…somewhat. Half of his body had taken on the form of the Shukaku spirit inside him, which meant that his transformed side was much bigger than his normal side, his skin was the color of sand, his arm was as thick as a regular man's entire body, and his hand half the size of a car. His fingers had sharpened into claws, he had a raccoon's ear on the side of his head, the left half of his teeth were sharp fangs, and he had a tail every bit as thick as his arm and was armored with huge plates that were perfectly capable of cutting into flesh.

"What the-! What are you!" Meidashi said, too shocked to even try to defend himself. Gaara flew to the side of him and put his claw in Meidashi's stomach, then used it to drive him across the arena. He brought Meidashi forward and slammed him into the wall, dislodging some of it, which dropped into the lake. Gaara dropped, but Meidashi was lodged into the wall, so he sat there, unable to move. Gaara landed on the water, and then his monster features turned into sand and floated in the air around Gaara, waiting to serve his next command.

"Alright, it's time to get rid of this troublesome water," Gaara said as he made hand signs. "_Ninja Art: Evaporation Jutsu!_" Steam rose up from the lake as the water quickly evaporated, leaving the arena bone dry five minutes later.

"Huh? Where'd he pick that up?" Kankuro asked, seeming just as confused as I felt.

"Well, wherever he learned it, it's a good thing he did, it just totally threw him the advantage in this fight," I said, looking at Gaara, who looked triumphant with his arms folded, looking up at Meidashi, and then I looked at Meidashi himself, who was just pulling himself out of the wall. He dropped and landed on all fours, staring at Gaara in shock.

"I don't know who or what you are, but this will make my victory against you all the more memorable," he said, still with the expression of shock. I could not believe he could still have any possible confidence, since Gaara had just done away with Meidashi's jutsu and was about to win this.

"You really think you can still win?" Gaara said, staring at Meidashi with a blank expression. "Well, we'll just have to see!" Meidashi said, raising his hands and shooting a wave of water from both of them at Gaara. A wall of sand appeared to block the water and then shot at Meidashi in the shape of a fist. The fist hit him in the stomach and knocked him into the wall, and when the dust cleared, blood was trickling from his mouth and he looked half-conscious. Gaara let him regain his senses and he got back to his feet, then stretched his arms towards Gaara. Two streams of water shot at Gaara, which his sand blocked, but didn't attack back.

Kankuro let out a grunt of approval and said, "He's reverted back to his old ways…he's just toying with Meidashi now, they both know there's no way he can win."

"Yeah," I agreed, my eyes glued to the fight. Meidashi pulled out a kunai and charged, and when he got to Gaara, Gaara blocked his slash with a sand wall, then landed some sand right in his stomach, nearly knocking him to his knees. Gaara then created a hand out of his sand that rammed into Meidashi's stomach and drove him back, smashing him back into the wall. The hand deformed back into shapeless sand and floated back to Gaara, orbiting him for Meidashi's next attack. Meidashi got back to his feet, but he was shaking from not being able to stand properly, and it didn't look like he could move his hands, because he didn't shoot any more water at Gaara or pull out a knife. Or maybe that was just because he knew that would never work.

Regardless, Gaara waited for him to make the next move and resumed orbiting his sand around him. Finally Meidashi summoned a lot of water to float around him, but not attack, and then charged. "I don't know what you're playing at, but I'll put a stop to it, just like I have this whole fight," Gaara said, sending a stream of sand at Meidashi. The water around him formed a shield to block Gaara's sand and he kept on running.

"Oh, so that's your game is it? Smart," Gaara commented, jumping up and forming a cloud of sand under his feet. Meidashi stopped where Gaara had been standing and shot three more _Water Shuriken_ up at Gaara, whose sand blocked them, expelled the water, and shot a large stream at Meidashi. Meidashi leaped out of the way and formed a cloud of water under him that he stood on, floating in the air just like Gaara. They both shot a stream of their respective substances that collided in midair and stayed right in the middle of the two of them. Finally, Gaara made the sand disperse and the water shot at him, and he flew out of the way and the water hit the wall. Gaara shot three _Sand Shuriken_ at Meidashi, which a wall of water blocked, and Gaara flew further in the air, followed by Meidashi. Meidashi raised his hand and a ball of water formed in it, and he kept charging, using it as a melee weapon.

A wall of sand formed and Meidashi ran the ball of water right in to it. Water exploded on contact with the wall, splashing on the ground of the arena, and the force of it had been strong enough to punch a small hole in the wall. "Whoa," said Kankuro, his eyes wide as he watched the two of them up there. Meidashi turned into water that floated past the sand shield and reformed right in front Gaara with his fist raised. He landed it in Gaara's cheek and Gaara was knocked off his sand cloud and crashed into the ground. When he got to his feet, there were some severe cracks in his armor on his cheek where Meidashi had hit him, and then some minor cracks around his face and hands from when he had hit the ground.

The cracks in his armor repaired themselves, and Gaara reformed the sand-cloud under him and floated up in the air towards Meidashi. Five more _Water Shuriken_ shot down at Gaara, who flew out of the way and kept flying right up at Meidashi with his extra sand ready to attack. Meidashi formed a wall of water to protect himself, and Gaara turned into sand and a few seconds later, he reformed behind the shield and in front of Meidashi with his fist raised. It was déjà vu as Gaara's fist landed in Meidashi's cheek and he hit the ground. Gaara made his sand spin around just above Meidashi, who had his face in the arena floor. He got to his knees and the sand smashed into his back, bringing up a ten-foot diameter cloud of dust.

The dust cleared and Meidashi was laying there, buried under a big stream of sand with blood trickling from fresh wounds, and then he reverted to water and became a puddle. "Ah! What the-?" Gaara said, turning around and looking at the ceiling. Meidashi landed a _Water Shuriken_ right into Gaara's side, knocking him out of the air and making him smash into the ground. Meidashi dropped off from the ceiling and created a water-cloud under his feet, which he used to float down to Gaara, who was getting back to his feet. He summoned his sand, which flowed in waves around him, and when he shot three _Sand Shuriken _at Meidashi, Meidashi summoned a water-wall to block them. Then, Meidashi stretched his arms out beside him and summoned several hundred gallons of water to smash Gaara with, who didn't look remotely fazed.

"If you think you can beat me with that pathetic amount of sand, you'd best think again," Meidashi said as he stretched his arms above him, making the water pool into a huge ball about twenty feet in diameter.

"Pathetic, is it?" Gaara said, staring right at the ball of water without a hint of fear. Gaara stretched his hands out to his sides with his fingers pointed at the ground. He closed his eyes, and focused his chakra, the only reason I knew this being because I knew Gaara, and whatever he was about to do would throw him the match. About ten seconds later, "_SAND TSUNAMI!_" The cracks in the ground exploded with sand, making more than the water, and coupled with a second _Evaporation Jutsu_ from Gaara, the match was over. The sand compacted on Gaara's side of the room and rose in a wave, falling right on top of Meidashi, who was paralyzed with fear. The sand slammed into him, burying him completely, probably breaking a bone or two, and a large stream of sand shaped like a hand clutching Meidashi rose up and drove him across the arena. Meidashi was smashed into the wall, dislodging several large chunks that dropped when Meidashi did.

Some of the sand covered Meidashi's body and formed a cocoon that floated into the air with Gaara's sand. "Wait…how did you get more sand?" Meidashi asked, struggling against the sand.

"While we were fighting," Gaara said, "I sent some sand below to infuse my chakra into the rubble and break it down into tiny particles, which I exerted my chakra over to manipulate, same as the sand of the Shukaku inside me. Now then…"

"Wait, wait, come on, we can come to some sort of compromise, can't we?" Meidashi said desperately, fighting even harder against the sand. Gaara only smiled, a hint of his old self in his eyes. So, he was going to kill him.

"_Sand Burial!_"

"Gah! Aah!" Blood poured out of Meidashi's mouth as his body was smashed by the sand. But then I realized Gaara hadn't killed him. The sand dispersed, letting Meidashi drop to the ground, and when he hit, he was still breathing, just unconscious. Gaara had won.

"Alright, the winner is Gaara!" Genma said, not bothering to come down into the arena as Gaara used his sand to teleport back up to the balcony while the rest of it seeped into the cracks back down to the arena below. We made eye-contact as he joined his brother, and I realized that his reputation still held. Meidashi had never actually hurt him…that fame remained with Sasuke and I. I looked up at the name-selector, which was still choosing, wondering who was going to be next.


	20. Chapter 20: Two Strengths

Four more chapters until the Season Finale.

TWO STRENGTHS

AMACHI LEE

VS

SAKURA HARUNO

"Good luck, Sakura," I said to her. "Right," she responded nervously. She hopped down to the arena, followed by the female Leaf Ninja who I guessed was Natsuhi's and Hakuro's teammate.

"Alright, begin!" Genma shouted from the balcony.

"Well bring it on, little girl, or are you too distracted about Uchiha to fight me?" Amachi said with an obnoxious smirk. Sakura's eyes narrowed in anger as she pulled out a kunai and waited. "That's more like it," Amachi said as she took up a fighting stance. "I'm gonna warn you now, though, I'm not as weak as Natsuhi and Hakuro," she said, still with an obnoxious smirk.

"Can you say obnoxious?" said someone from beside me. I looked and saw Ino standing there, staring at Amachi with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, no kidding. No worries, though, Sakura will blow her away," I said with a smile.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Kakashi from behind us.

We both looked at him and Ino said, "Wait, what do you mean?"

"Well, if the rumors are true, Amachi is one of the most talented genin in the village." We both looked at him, coaxing him to go on, and he simply said, "You'll see."

Amachi charged, making Sakura raise her kunai to defend herself. About halfway to her, Amachi leaped forward, spun around, and said, "_Leaf Hurricane!_" Her foot landed at Sakura's hand, making her drop her kunai in pain as Amachi landed on all fours, then shot her foot up and landed it in Sakura's jaw, sending her floating into the air with blood trickling out of her mouth.

"Sakura!" Ino and I screamed as Amachi got back to her feet. She jumped up after Sakura, and landed her foot in her stomach, making Sakura spit out blood. Both of them dropped to the ground, Amachi landing on her feet, Sakura on her back. Sakura struggled to her knees and threw a kunai at Amachi who sidestepped it and just stood there, staring down at Sakura. Then, suddenly, Sakura shot to her feet and charged, her fist aimed at Amachi, who smiled in amusement. Amachi sidestepped Sakura's first punch, then her second, and jumped her third. Sakura came up after her and tried to punch her again, but Amachi dropped out of the way. Sakura tried to go after her again, but Amachi jumped back, and Sakura's fist punched a crater about two feet out from her.

When Amachi saw this, she said, "Ooh, it looks like I'm gonna have to watch those fists of hers, they can pack quite the punishment. Let me guess, you focus all of your chakra into your fist and then release it on impact, am I right?"

"Yeah," Sakura said, panting with exhaustion.

"Worn out already?" Amachi said, "If that's all you got, you got no business fighting me-huh?" Amachi turned around and saw Sakura with her fist raised, getting ready to knock her head off. Amachi looked back at the Sakura on the ground just in time for it to disappear. The crater she had made in the ground disappeared as well, leaving the floor as good as it was beforehand. Sakura's fist landed in Amachi's face, punching another crater in the ground and sending Amachi sliding into the wall, sending cracks all the way up it. The dust cleared and Amachi was sitting against the wall, blood trickling from her mouth and cut open from rubble in several places. "_I-Illusion Jutsu_," she gasped, staring at Sakura with anger in her eyes.

"Exactly," Sakura said, wiping blood from her chin. Amachi got back to her feet, shaking in pain, and charged Sakura, who charged with her fist raised. Amachi ducked and stepped around her, then jumped up and landed her foot in Sakura's back, knocking her to the ground. Sakura immediately got back to her feet and threw her fist out, only to have Amachi sidestep it and land her own in Sakura's stomach. Sakura dropped to her knees while Amachi leaped back and landed on the wall, probably to avoid a counterattack by Sakura. Eventually Sakura got back to her feet and looked up at Amachi, whose smirk had never quite went away. Sakura pulled out three kunai and threw them up at Amachi, who dropped off the wall to avoid them, and when she landed, she charged.

Sakura pulled out another kunai and charged herself, which I thought was kind of not smart, since Amachi had countered almost everything Sakura threw at her. Sakura tried to stab Amachi, but Amachi swerved out of the way and landed her fist in Sakura's nose, knocking her back and sending her rolling into the wall. Sakura got to her knees and threw four shuriken at Amachi, which she dodged and waited for Sakura's next move. Sakura's fist became engulfed in chakra, and she got to her feet and charged with it raised. "Hah! She's persistent," Amachi said as she charged as well.

While still running, Sakura made some signs and said, "_Clone Jutsu!_" A clone appeared on either side of her, both with their chakra-enhanced fists raised and all three of them running at Amachi. They all crisscrossed paths, mixing themselves up so no one could tell which was the real one, so Amachi kept her eyes on all three. She sidestepped a fist from one, jumped a sweeping kick from another, but wasn't fast enough to dodge a punch from the third and real Sakura, which landed in her face, sending her flying back and smashing into the wall. Sakura's two clones disappeared in puffs of smoke, and the original raised her fist, ready to attack again. Amachi walked out of the dust with a nasty bruise on her cheek and blood running down her chin, clutching her arm which was bleeding horribly.

"Alright, I didn't want to have to do this in a preliminary, but it doesn't look like I have a choice," she said, and she leaped into the air.

"Whoa!" I said as her leap cleared the entire arena and she landed on the fingers of the statue at the back of the arena. She pulled up the legs of her pants and took something off of both ankles. She straightened up and stretched her arms out to both sides. In her hands were leg weights, which were dangling in the air. She dropped them and they fell to the ground, and my mouth dropped as they hit, punching craters in the ground and raising dust clouds fifty feet in the air, higher than her. "Wait, what the-!" I said, as she disappeared in a burst of speed. Sakura gasped too, and wasn't prepared for Amachi reappearing right in front of her, landing her fist in Sakura's stomach and knocking her backwards, slamming her into the wall of the arena.

"Wait, she fights…she fights just like Lee!" Ino said, staring down at the two of them with her jaw dropped.

"You're right," we both looked around and saw Lee's sensei, Maito Gai, or Might Guy, as he liked to be called, walking over, along with Neji Hyuga, Lee's squad mate, both pairs of eyes fixed firmly on the match. "You're right," he repeated, "Amachi is fighting _exactly_ like Lee, because Lee trained her."

"What? I never knew Lee had a student," Neji said, looking up at Guy.

"Well, he did, and Lee taught her everything he knows, and she learned it all to perfection, which means she is arguably just as strong as Lee, if not stronger," Guy explained.

"But wait, why did Lee go to the trouble of training her anyways? Who is she?" I asked, looking back at Amachi. Then, I realized something with a gasp, and looked back at the name-selector: AMACHI LEE. "Whoa! No way!" I said, looking back at Guy-sensei.

"That's right. Amachi is…Lee's sister." Even the people around us, who weren't even included in the conversation, looked in surprise. Neji was more surprised than anyone. I mean, the two were best friends, and all this time, Neji never knew his own squad mate had a sister. I looked at Kakashi, and realized that these were the rumors he had been talking about.

"So then, does that mean-?" I didn't have time to finish my question. Amachi got around Sakura's punch again, lowered herself to the ground and kicked Sakura in the chin, making her float into the air. Blood was spilling out of Sakura's mouth as she floated, spattering across the ground in a crooked line. Amachi jumped up after her and floated along behind her with her arms stretched out beside her. The bandages on her arms dislodged and unraveled as she prepared to finish Sakura. Amachi brought her arms up and the bandages wrapped around Sakura's torso, binding her arms to her side, making her defenseless against Amachi.

"_Primary Lotus!_" Amachi grabbed Sakura and spun around upside-down, then spun like a top towards the ground, Sakura helpless to do anything.

"Sakura!" Ino and I yelled as they crashed into the ground, bringing up a huge cloud of dust and sending rubble flying in every direction. The dust cleared somewhat and Amachi was standing there, but Sakura was still obscured in dust.

"N-No way, she can't be…she can't be…_dead?_" Ino squeaked, tears coming to her eyes. I dropped to my knees, my hands wrapped around the rails of the balcony.

"S-Sakura!" I said, barely audible from shock. The dust cleared and a large boulder was where Sakura was supposed to be, cracked cleanly in two.

"Gah! Darnnit!" Amachi said bitterly, then, "Oh no!" The paper-bomb on the rock exploded, blasting into the crater formed by the _Primary Lotus_ and making it larger. Amachi flew out of the fire, smacking into the wall ten feet up, then slid down and sat against it, barely conscious, with bruises, burns and blood all over her. I looked up at the ceiling and saw Sakura standing on it, staring down at Amachi with, from what I could tell from eighty feet down, what looked like a triumphant smile. Amachi looked up at her with what was most definitely a triumphant smile and said, "Come on, you think I'm that stupid?"

The ceiling where Sakura was standing exploded, blowing a hole clear into the room above, and Sakura flew down and smashed into the opposite wall of Amachi, embedded in a crater and just as beat up as Amachi. The difference between Amachi and Sakura was that Sakura was a medical-ninja who could heal herself when given the time. She made some hand signs and her hands were surrounded in green chakra, as opposed to the typical blue, and put it to her chest. Her injuries began to heal, and Amachi got to her feet, but made no attempt to stop her.

"Go ahead, heal yourself, I could use the time anyways." She crossed her arms and bent her knees, and I knew she had this match. "_The Second Gate, Gate of Rest: Open!_" A shockwave cracked the ground around her, while Sakura continued healing herself. "_The Third Gate: Gate of Life: Open!_" Her skin turned red, her muscles enlarged, and her eyes became pupil-less. "Alright, it's time to finish this!"


	21. Chapter 21: Courage

Three more chapters until the Season One Finale.

COURAGE

"_The Second Gate, Gate of Rest: Open! The Third Gate, Gate of Life: Open!_" Amachi's skin became red, her muscles enlarged, and her eyes became pupil-less. "Alright," she said, "it's time to finish this!" She charged at the speed of light at Sakura, who wasn't done healing. Amachi's strength busted out the entire wall, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust. Sakura flew out of the dust and rolled across the ground, and when I looked at her, I saw that her injuries were much smaller than before. The dust cleared and Amachi was on the ground, looking at Sakura with her chakra flaring around her.

"Hah! Gotcha," Sakura said, and the paper-bomb at Amachi's feet exploded. She came charging out of the explosion like nothing ever happened and tore across the ground, ran straight into Sakura and passed her, obscuring her in dust, and probably blood. Amachi stopped cold, bringing up more dust, and when the trail of it cleared, Sakura was half-buried in rubble, her head cracked open and bruised all over. I thought she was unconscious until her eyes slowly opened, and she tried to get the rubble off of her. When she got a huge boulder off of her leg, she got to her feet, but Amachi appeared there and landed her fist in Sakura's stomach, sending her flying back and smashing into the wall. The dust cleared and Sakura was barely conscious, only able to look at Amachi. "You…lose," she whispered.

And the paper-bomb she had placed on Amachi's back, probably during that last punch, went off, blowing a hole into the ground. Amachi was sent rolling across the arena, her shirt ripped, and there were burns and blood all over her back. She didn't get back up, and her skin turned back to Caucasian and her muscles reduced in size. I looked over at Sakura and saw that her eyes were closed…she was unconscious as well. "Alright," said Genma, "Since neither contestant is able to proceed, this match is-huh?" We all looked in the same direction as Genma.

"Tch, darnnit," I said quietly, as Amachi rose to her feet, panting heavily.

"Correction, the winner is Amachi Lee!" And right at that moment, Amachi passed out. Medical ninja rushed forward, dug Sakura out of the rubble, put both of them on stretchers, and ran off.

"Man. I really thought she had a chance this time," Ino said to me, watching the medical ninja run off with Sakura and Amachi. I had a sudden flashback of the last time we took these exams, when Sakura's opponent had been Ino. It was a long match, consisting of mainly taijutsu and then a little bit of ninjutsu. During the final blow, Sakura's fist had landed in Ino's cheek, and Ino's fist had landed in Sakura's cheek at the sane time. Both went flying back and rolled across the ground. Both were unconscious…the match had ended in a draw. "Yeah. Me too," I said as I looked back up at the name-selector:

KORUKI MATANU

VS

TENTEN

"I would be last," said Kankuro as Neji's and Lee's teammate, Tenten, hopped into the arena, followed by Stone Ninja Koruki Matanu. Koruki was female, just like Tenten, but instead of obnoxious and confident like Amachi, she looked modest and nervous like Sakura.

"Good luck," Tenten said respectively.

"Th-Thanks, you too." she replied nervously.

"Alright, begin!" Genma yelled from the balcony. Tenten pulled out a scroll, unraveled it somewhat, and pressed her hand to it. A puff of smoke appeared and when it cleared, Tenten was holding a giant shuriken, the blades about two feet long and five inches wide coming out of the handle. She rolled up her scroll and put it back in her pocket, spinning the shuriken in her hand the whole time, and then charged, making Koruki squeal in fear. She managed to sidestep Tenten's first swipe from above, but Tenten spun around and slashed Koruki across the chest, knocking her off her feet and spattering blood to the ground. Tenten brought the shuriken up over head and prepared to bring it down on Koruki, who looked terrified. In a bout of reflex, Koruki shot her foot out, connecting with Tenten's shin, and Tenten lost her balance and fell forward.

Koruki got to her feet and ran passed her, and Tenten landed on her hands, then spun around and threw the shuriken up at Koruki. Koruki ducked and the shuriken flew passed her, headed for the wall thirty feet off the ground, then stopped in midair. Tenten pulled her hand back, and the tripwire connecting from her fingers to the shuriken pulled the shuriken back at Koruki, who squealed in fear and ducked. Tenten caught the shuriken, pulled out a kunai, and cut the tripwire close to her fingertips. She dropped the shuriken and the tip stuck into the ground. Koruki made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Reflexive Enhancement Jutsu!_" She dived out of the way of Tenten's stab the instant she had cast the jutsu, which was the same instant that Tenten's knife came within two inches of her.

Koruki got back to her feet and Tenten charged her again. Koruki backed out of the way of two sweeping slashes, and then Tenten spun around and shot her foot out at Koruki's chest, but Koruki brought her arms up and blocked it. Every time Tenten tried to hit her, Koruki squealed in fear. Koruki leaped back and landed twenty feet away, and Tenten grew a frustrated look. "Darnnit," she said bitterly, "why can't I hit her? Whatever that jutsu was that she used, it's really effective! Oh well. Eventually, I'll get past it." She drew out three more kunai and threw them at Koruki. Koruki ducked the first, raised her arm out of the way of the second, and quickly pulled out a kunai to block the third.

"I don't get what she's so afraid of, if I had those kinds of reflexes, I'd be rockin' out," I said to Ino.

"No kidding, this girl really needs a confidence booster," she replied.

"Tell me about it," we both looked and saw hers and Hatsuji's teammate, the other guy who hadn't fought yet aside from Kankuro, walking over.

"Naruto Uzumaki, right?" he said to me.

"Yeah," I answered, still wondering what he was doing here.

"Name's Daiyuma Kutsuyumi. And you are?"

"Kankuro," he replied, "Just Kankuro."

"Good to meet you," Daiyuma said.

"And I'm Ino, just in case, you know, anyone cares," she said irritably.

"Koruki has had self-confidence issues ever since she entered the Hidden Stone Academy. She always doubts her strength, and thinks she's no good at anything. But I'll tell you right now, you underestimate her and you'll be in some trouble. That _Reflexive Enhancement Jutsu_ of hers is the only jutsu she knows, but it's an A-Rank, the second-most-powerful rank, so, needless to say, it's a power to behold. True to the name, it exerts the chakra to increase the reflexes to a proportion of how much chakra is used. In other words, you have enough chakra, and you can't be touched," he said, looking at his teammate.

"Wow," said Ino, looking down at the match.

"Hey…Daiyuma," I said, something coming to mind.

"Yeah, what is it?" he said.

"What's with that other guy, Hatsuji? What's his story?"

After a couple seconds of silence, I looked over at him and saw he was smiling. "A good question. Despite being his teammate, I honestly don't have a clue."

"Wait, what?" I said, looking at him in surprise.

"It's a question that's been haunting my mind ever since I met him. He's an orphan in the Hidden Stone, that's all I know. His family was killed during the Third Great Ninja War, and I'm guessing that screwed with his brain, which is why he's so intimidatingly calm. Then again, I guess it would be worse if it happened to me. Anyways, the only jutsu I've ever seen out of him, aside from the basics, was that _Boulder Breaker_. And the thing about it is I've never seen it before now. He had shown such skill with _Substitution _and _Clone_ that he never needed to use any other jutsu. He's literally the most powerful genin in the Stone. I used to think that the only reason for him revealing so little jutsu was because of a lack of chakra, which would mean he didn't _know_ anything else.

"Several sensory-types, shinobi who can sense the levels of peoples' chakra, around the village told me that his chakra levels were absolutely enormous, more powerful than anything they had ever seen. In other words, he could know any number of horribly powerful jutsu, and if he's this powerful just using the basics, I can't imagine how much power he has hidden."

"No kidding," I said, not even wanting to think about how much trouble Matt would be in if Hatsuji became his opponent in the third exam. Koruki blocked four shuriken without a problem, but she was still too frightened to attack. Tenten pulled out a small katana and charged, ready to cut Koruki to ribbons. Koruki ducked and sidestepped all of Tenten's attacks, squealing the whole way, until Tenten finally got down and tried to trip her, which she jumped and landed her foot in Tenten's chin. Tenten landed on her butt, her katana clattering to the ground next to her, and Koruki used the time to back up in case Tenten surprise-attacked. Instead, Tenten slowly got back to her feet and pulled out some shuriken. She threw them at Koruki, who maneuvered in a way so she dodged all three of them.

"Alright, that's it, I've had enough," said Tenten and she pulled out two scrolls. "_Ninja Art: Rising Twin Dragons_." She leaped up into the air, and on her way up, she spiraled and unraveled the scrolls, so that they spun around her when she was thirty feet in the air. Somehow, she kept in the air and didn't drop, and she pressed her hand to her scrolls, summoning kunai each time, and then grabbing them and throwing them with her other hand. In no time, there were twenty kunai flying at Koruki, who only had a single knife to block with.


	22. Chapter 22: Resolve

Author's Note: As some of you may be aware, I have recently released the pilot chapter of my new fanfic Bleach Chronicles. Something I forgot to mention on there, I'm posting chapters as I complete them, which means there is no given period between posts. That being said, it also isn't entirely beyond the realm of possibility that there may never be a second chapter.

Two more chapters until the Season One Finale

RESOLVE

Twenty kunai flew at Koruki, who screamed in fear as she raised her kunai. I thought this was it for her, but no, she managed to block every single knife that came at her. Seeing that this wasn't going to work, Tenten started summoning knives with paper-bombs wrapped around the handle, which Koruki couldn't just block. Unfortunately, Koruki hadn't seen the bombs coming until they blew her up, setting off a chain-reaction that Tenten was forced to dive out of the way of. The shockwave cracked the entire arena, bringing chunks down all around the balcony, forcing people to move out of the way. Tenten landed perfectly on her feet and put her scrolls back in her pocket, knowing she had won. The smoke cleared, and my eyes widened.

Koruki was encased in a dome of chakra that had shielded her from the explosion. Except she looked as confused as Daiyuma. "Wait…I've never known this jutsu, I've never even seen this jutsu," she said.

"Nor have I," said Kakashi, which surprised me. He had seen just about every jutsu known to man, and knew a pretty big portion of them. The chakra disappeared and Koruki was perfectly fine, if not a little shaken up.

"Darnnit! I was sure that would work!" Tenten said, and she raised her arm up over her head. When she did, the giant shuriken on the ground rose up, and the light caught the tripwire attaching it to her fingers.

"Wait, I thought she cut the strings!" I said, wondering how they suddenly came back on.

"She did, but there was a second set that were a smaller gauge, so they wouldn't catch the light as easily and would be harder to notice," said Kakashi.

"Oh," I said, wondering how I could have not noticed that. Tenten swung the shuriken around and shot it at Koruki, who screamed as it came towards her. She ducked it and Tenten brought it up, then down where Koruki was crutched. Koruki rolled out of the way and the shuriken embedded itself in the ground. Tenten summoned another giant shuriken with her scroll and threw it at Koruki, who rolled out of the way long before it hit her. When the shuriken was twenty feet away from where she had been, it split in two, one keeping its course, the other headed straight for Koruki. It was a _Shadow Shuriken Jutsu_, where the user hid a second shuriken in the shadow of the first. Koruki leaped into the air and the shuriken flew harmlessly passed, but Tenten wasn't done yet.

She pulled her left arm up and her right arm to the left, and the tripwire on both the shuriken swung them around, sending them right at Koruki. Koruki barrel-rolled out of the way of one, flipped forward out of the way of the second, and then, brought her legs up and landed them on one of the shuriken, then jumped up out of the way of the other one. She landed on the wall, and Tenten swung one of the shuriken at her while keeping the other one flying around in the air. Koruki dropped off the wall, making the shuriken embed itself in the wall, and Tenten shot the other one down at her while she fell. Koruki hit the ground and just barely managed to dive out of the way as the shuriken embedded itself in the ground where she had been.

Tenten swung her arms around, and both shuriken came out of the wall, but also, the first shuriken that she had summoned when the match started came up out of the ground and flew around as well. Koruki leaped up as all three shuriken weaved passed, then came around and shot back up at her. She landed on the wall, and Tenten swung the shuriken around so that one shuriken was traveling next to the wall up at her, the second coming down on top of her, and the third coming from in front of her, blocking her escape routes. Just before the shuriken converged on her, she jumped between the one on top and the one in the middle and they all hit the wall. Tenten swung them out of the wall and made them come at Koruki while she was still in the air, this time, perfectly helpless to do anything.

I thought Tenten had finally gotten her, but then that jutsu kicked in, and she was surrounded by a wave of chakra that shattered the shuriken on contact. The wave ceased and Koruki landed on the ground and skidded to a stop towards the base of the wall. I looked at Tenten and saw that she did not seem happy about this turn of events. Then again, I couldn't see how she was going to get out of it. If that wave of chakra was going to appear every time Koruki's reflexes failed her, Tenten was sunk. I knew Tenten would try to find a way through that shield, but it wasn't going to be easy when her only talent was summoning and using ninja tools, which shattered on contact with it. Tenten pulled out her scroll and summoned a kunai that had a tripwire tied around the handle, and connected to the tripwire were eight paper-bombs, which I guessed would be plenty enough to bust right through that shield of hers.

Koruki looked absolutely terrified, and to be honest, I wasn't entirely sure the explosion from that many paper-bombs wouldn't blow the entire tower to the heavens. Apparently, Grandma Tsunade had realized the same thing, because she said "Go!" and four Leaf Ninja ran across the balcony and stopped at the corners.

They all made the same hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Protective Chakra Jutsu!_" They all stretched their hands out in front of them and a wall of chakra stretched across and around the entire arena in front of the balcony, shielding us from the oncoming blast. It even went across the floor and ceiling, to keep the explosion as contained as possible. Tenten threw the kunai, and it landed on the ground where Koruki had been standing just before she jumped. The bombs went off, and the entire arena was caught in the explosion, the light from the fire forcing everyone to shield their eyes. About a minute later, the light faded and the entire arena was in ruins. The chakra barrier had most certainly done its job, otherwise we would be in midair, but there wasn't a square foot of arena that wasn't either cracked or missing.

Tenten had summoned a huge iron shield to crouch behind to protect herself, and when I looked over at Koruki, I gasped. Her chakra shield was so intense it punched a deep crater in the ground to keep itself from being blown away. The shield disappeared and she looked like she was about ready to pass out. Her eyes were sliding in and out of focus, and it didn't seem like she could speak. Eventually, she dropped to her knees, panting heavily, and just when I thought she was gong to go under, she put her foot up to give her some extra support and then rose, steady and ready for more. "Man, she's strong," Tenten said as she pulled out her katana. Tenten charged, and instead of squealing in fear, Koruki pulled out a kunai and waited for Tenten to come.

The look in her eye had changed; it wasn't fear now, so much as confidence. And I had a feeling this change in attitude was going to do wonders for her during this fight. Koruki blocked Tenten's stab, then tripped her legs out from under her. Tenten fell on her butt, and Koruki put her foot to Tenten's chest, knocking her flat to the ground and aiming her kunai at her. "Nice try," Tenten said as she swung her leg around, knocking Koruki off of her, and then landing it in her stomach, knocking her to the ground. Tenten got back to her feet, then leaped back, landing on the wall. She pulled out her scroll and summoned four kunai, which she threw at Koruki while she was still on the ground. The chakra shield protected her, but it only showed up where the kunai came, and the blades went right through, catching on the handle.

The shield disappeared and the kunai dropped to the ground, Koruki rising to a sitting position at the same time. Koruki picked up the four kunai and got back to her feet, then threw the knives back up at Tenten, who released her chakra-grip on the wall and dropped out of the way. She landed on the ground and charged with her katana, Koruki pulling out a kunai to defend herself. Tenten's slash was parried, and Koruki leaped back to avoid further attacks, and then charged back in, going at Tenten with everything she had. And the part that stunk for Tenten was the fact that she wasn't having her reflexes enhanced via her chakra, which made it much more difficult to dodge. Eventually, Tenten tried to counterattack, but Koruki ducked the first slash and embedded her kunai in Tenten's stomach. Tenten backed up, gasping for air, and pulled the knife out of her stomach.

She threw it back at Koruki, but the pain was affecting her aim, because it flew a few inches to the right, and embedded itself in the wall behind Koruki. Koruki pulled out three shuriken and threw them at Tenten, which embedded themselves in her right shoulder, left forearm and right thigh. The force of the shuriken knocked Tenten over onto her back, and she fell unconscious. "The winner is Koruki Matanu," said Genma. Right at that moment, Koruki coughed violently and was on her knees. Her arms were wrapped around her stomach, and she was hunched over, coughing horribly. Blood spattered the ground with every cough, and eventually, she swayed to the side and was on the ground, still coughing. Medical ninja came rushing out with medical equipment, ready to treat her on the spot.

One of them measured her heart rate and said, "She's used too much chakra, her heart's failing. She's already in cardiac arrest. She's got ten minutes at best!" Normally, they would have just put her on the stretcher and carried her off, but it may be too late by the time they would get her to the hospital. "Alright, insert the chakra needle into her arm," said the same medical ninja. One of his associates did so and the head said, "Alright, that will hold her for now, but we've still got to get her to the medical center to treat the muscle damage inflicted by the use of all that chakra." They lifted her on a stretcher and carried her off, hurrying to get to the medical center.

"Man, I hope she'll be okay," I whispered to myself so that no one would hear. I watched them carry her off, wondering if she was going to survive until the third exam.

"Alright, it's my turn," said Kankuro. The name-selector flashed:

DAIYUMA KUTSUYUMI

VS

KANKURO

The two of them hopped from either side of me down into the arena. It was the last match of the preliminaries, then we would finally move on to the third exam, and afterwards, see who would become a chunin.

"Alright," Genma called from the balcony, "it's time for the final match of the preliminaries to begin!"


	23. Chapter 23: The Third Exam

One more chapter until the Season One Finale

THE THIRD EXAM

DAIYUMA KUTSUYUMI

VS

KANKURO

Both Daiyuma and Kankuro hopped over the railing from either side of me into the arena and met at the center. Genma called from the balcony, "Alright, begin!"

"_Wind Style: Crusher Blade!_" Daiyuma threw his arm out and shot a huge dart of wind at Kankuro, which Kankuro jumped. Daiyuma made another hand sign and disappeared in a wave of wind. "_Mist Sprinter Jutsu!_" He appeared right behind Kankuro, who turned around and crossed his arms to block Daiyuma's fist. Kankuro kneed Daiyuma in the stomach, then grabbed his arm with both hands, swung him over his head and tossed him into the ground. Daiyuma hit and spat out blood, but immediately got back to his feet to avoid Kankuro landing on him. Daiyuma disappeared in a wave of wind again and the ground exploded at Kankuro's feet. Daiyuma burst out with his fist above his head, landing it in Kankuro's chin. Kankuro was knocked two feet in the air, and Daiyuma turned around and landed his foot in Kankuro's stomach. Kankuro took the full hit, but instead of flying back like he should have, he grabbed Daiyuma's leg and held him there.

Kankuro's face cracked and a piece of it broke away to reveal a gray underside. "This fight…is over," I said with a smile on my face, knowing that Kankuro had the match wrapped around his finger. The rest of Kankuro's face peeled off to reveal a gray face with three eyes, one smack in the middle of its forehead, brown, shaggy hair and a mouth filled with fanged teeth. One of the mummies Kankuro keeps on his back (yeah, he keeps two mummies on his back, you'll see why in a minute) unwrapped to reveal the real Kankuro, and the clothes on the clone tore off to reveal a black cloth draped over its head to cover up its body. Thin threads made of chakra connected from Kankuro's fingers to the clone, and the two separated, Kankuro taking the second mummy on the clone's back and hoisting it over his own back.

The clone, which was actually Kankuro's battle puppet, raised its four arms and flew through the air at Daiyuma, who gasped, then regained his senses and leaped. The puppet, which was called Crow, followed Daiyuma up into the air, and out of one of its palms came a foot-long blade that was dipped in poison. Daiyuma grabbed Crow's arm and threw it aside, and Crow grew another blade on another palm and attacked with it. Daiyuma just barely managed to drop out of the way, but instead of coming after him, Crow just floated there, watching him drop. Kankuro leaped up and floated below Daiyuma. The second mummy unraveled to reveal another Kankuro, and the original became engulfed in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, he was another battle puppet, with a horse's head, four arms, two legs, and a torso big enough to fit two people into.

Daiyuma looked down at the second puppet below him and screamed. He fell right into the torso which had opened up like a trunk, and it closed in on him, leaving him at Kankuro's mercy. Kankuro brought the puppet down and slammed it into the ground, leaving a big crater in it, but not one to leave a fight unfinished, had Crow fly down and collide into the other puppet, the Black Ant, and the paper-bomb on its cloak exploded. Kankuro brought his arms back and pieces of each puppet came flying out of the smoke and reassembled in midair. The smoke cleared and Daiyuma was laying there, unconscious with blood all over him. "The winner of the final match is Kankuro!" said Genma, "And that concludes the preliminaries! To refresh, the following competitors will be fighting in the Third Exam! Shino Aburame, Matt Withau, Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuga, Sarura Kuharu, Rock Lee, Naruto Uzumaki, Hatsuji Korero, Gaara of the Desert, Koruki Matanu, and Kankuro!"

"Alright!" said Ibiki-sensei, jumping down from the balcony and walking over, a large poster-board in his hands. "I'm gonna make this short and simple, so listen up. The third exam is basically a spin-off of these preliminaries. In other words, the remaining candidates will be fighting in a one-on-one tournament against each other."

"So, what, only one of us can become a chunin? That's kind of a stretch, don't you think?" said Hatsuji Korero, the guy who demolished Choji.

"No, rather you become a chunin or not depends in no way on your ranking in the third exam. And to support this statement, you could lose the very first match and still become a chunin. It all depends on how well you perform in that first match. If the judges, being Lady Hokage, myself, and the feudal lord of the Leaf, deem you to possess the qualities required of a chunin, then you will promote to a chunin. And while it's true every single one of you may become chunin, there is also the slim, but existent chance that _none_ of you may become chunin. Like I said, it all depends on how well you perform. Now, normally, we would have each of the participating candidates draw numbers to determine who will be fighting who, but since so many of them are in the hospital, we've already randomly drawn names and written down the match-ups."

He held up his poster board, and on it was the pairs of opponents for the third exam:

_Shikamaru vs Hatsuji Korero  
Kankuro vs Amachi Lee  
Shino Aburame vs Gaara  
Koruki Matanu vs Matt Withau  
Rock Lee vs Sarura Kuharu  
Neji Hyuga vs Naruto Uzumaki_

[Shikamaru's point-of-view] _Man, I gotta fight the guy that destroyed Choji? What a drag…. _

[Hatsuji's point-of-view] _The smart guy, huh? This should be fun!_

[Kankuro's point-of-view] _Man, I gotta fight the sister of the guy who came within an inch of taking Gaara's life? I'm never gonna win…._

[Shino's point-of-view] _Good thing he's changed since last time, otherwise the only way I'd survive would be to give up…not that that's not a bad idea now…._

[Gaara's point-of-view] _This shouldn't be too difficult. Hatsuji is the only one I'm truly worried about…._

[Naruto's point-of-view] _Great, the least they could have done was given him the weakest opponent. Then again, I guess that Koruki _is_ the weakest person up there. Wait a minute, I'm fighting Neji?_ Neji and I caught each other's eye and smiled, and I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was, _It's time for a rematch!_

[Neji's point-of-view] _No matter how much stronger I get, Naruto always seems to be one step ahead of me. Oh well. This time is different. I'm not trapped in the darkness of hatred and revenge. This time, I'll win._

[Naruto's point-of-view] "Alright," said Ibiki, "now you know your opponents, and you also know what they are capable of, and that is why the third exam won't be taking place for exactly thirty days. This is to give you time to learn as many new jutsu as you possibly can, in order to surprise your opponent. Use this time well; a month will pass by much more quickly than you'd think…." And at that, we were dismissed. We all left the tower and were escorted safely out of the Forest of Death and all went on our separate paths. Both of my teammates were in the hospital, which meant that I was on my own. That didn't bother me though, I didn't have time to be hanging around talking; I had some serious training to do.

I looked all around the village for a certain someone that I had seen at the preliminaries. I looked at the Hidden Leaf Hot Springs, but he wasn't there, I looked for him in Grandma Tsunade's mansion, but he wasn't there either, and Neither Grandma nor Miss Shizune had seen him. I looked all around the village without any luck. Where had he gone to? If only I had followed him from the tower. I just hoped he wasn't already gone. Finally, I found him lurking in the Hidden Leaf Forest, next to a waterfall and small lake that was used for public swimming. "It's about time, Naruto," he said to me, making it clear he had been waiting for me to show up.

"Hey, Pervy-Sage!" I said, which was my nickname for him. He wasn't a dirt bag-perv, he just like to do a bit of sneaky peeking. But whatever he was, his real name is Jiraiya, and he's my teacher when Kakashi-sensei is off on other business, not to mention, Pervy-Sage is one of the most powerful and well-respected ninja in the world. "So, what you got to teach me today?" I said, excitedly anticipating some wicked-cool jutsu up his sleeve.

"Well…," he said, getting to his feet.

[Matt's point-of-view] "Hey, you awake?" I slowly opened my eyes and saw Kakashi looming over me, staring at me with concern.

"Yeah, what is it, Kakashi?" I muttered, groggy from my last fight.

"I have one month to train you, so we'd best get started as soon as possible."

Author's Note: That little list of opponents for the Third Exam was originally a bracket. However, due to the writing program the website uses, I couldn't keep the bracket the way it was (which really pissed me off). If you would like to make your own bracket (there are twelve opponents total) to help better understand what's going on, since I know some people comprehend better with a visual aid, then by all means.


	24. Chapter 24: Preparation

Here is the Season One Finale of Naruto Chronicles. I hope you all have enjoyed the story so far.

PREPARATION

"Where are we going?" I asked, following Kakashi from the Hidden Leaf Hospital.

"To the Mountain of Heroes," he answered, leading me towards the Hidden Leaf gate. "It's a half-a-day's walk away, and once we're there, we'll be spending every waking moment training."

"Hm? What's wrong with in the forest or something?" I asked.

"We need somewhere private for the things I'm going to teach you, otherwise someone's liable to get hurt."

"Oh. Okay, I guess that makes sense," I said, wondering what on earth he could be teaching me.

It was nightfall before we stopped walking, and when we did, we were in the shadow of a colossal mountain that covered fifty square miles and rose up ten-thousand feet. "We'll camp here for the night and continue to the top in the morning," said Kakashi as we pulled our tents out of our packs. The next day, we packed up and started climbing the trail up the mountain. About three hours later, we reached the top to a flat plain with a bunch of tall rock formations of nothing specific. "Alright," said Kakashi, taking off his pack, prompting me to do the same. "Before we begin, there's something I have to tell you, that I didn't during our first training session," he said to me.

"Yeah, what is it?" I asked, wondering what he was hiding.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves; first, tell me, have you ever heard of the Sage of the Six Paths?"

"No, why?" I said, wondering what this had to do with training.

"He was the very first shinobi, the founder of chakra and the creator of all modern-day ninjutsu. And the method in which he did this was with a very special jutsu. It's a kekkei-genkai, but it isn't hereditary, like Hinata's _Byakugan_. It is said only a chosen few possess this jutsu, and with it, they possess all five chakra elements of Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning. Once awakened, this jutsu allows you to almost instantly learn any jutsu in existence. The Sage of the Six Paths is one of three recorded shinobi to have ever possessed this jutsu. Its name is the _Rinnegan_."

I applied all this to memory and said, "Okay, but what's that got to do with me?"

"Because, you're one of the three; you possess the _Rinnegan_."

My eyes widened in shock, and I became speechless. Finally, I said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, I think you got the wrong guy. I may be a shinobi, but there is _no_ way _I _possess this super-powerful jutsu!"

"It's true," said Kakashi, "rather you believe me or not."

"Well then…how come I've never seen it?" I asked. I had never had any hint of a jutsu like that within me.

"Well, if your battle with Hinata had prolonged, I have no doubt in my mind you _would_ have seen it. Yours is dormant. It will only reveal itself when you are fighting a hopeless battle and about to die. The extra strength it will give you once it awakens is absolutely astronomical. So much so, that even in its dormant state, you possess more chakra than even me." I took this in, still only barely believing it. "Since it's still dormant, you don't have the full ability to learn any jutsu as quickly as an awakened one, but you still possess all five types of chakra nature, and can learn one as easily as any other. During the course of this training period, I'm going to train you in all five types of chakra nature, so you will have the capability to master any jutsu that comes your way. So, first, we'll start with the fundamentals of chakra control. Remember Kinoa Hakuro, when he landed on the wall of the arena during the preliminaries?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah," I answered, flashing back to the moment.

"That's what I'm going to teach you first," he said. "And since you already know the effects of the jutsu, I'm just going to tell you how to do it. Make the Ram sign and focus your chakra into the bottom of your feet. Keep a steady flow or it won't work. Once you've got a steady flow going, run up one of these rocks, and you should be able to walk up it as if it were the ground. Now, try it."

I made the sign and did what Kakashi told me to, focusing my chakra into the bottoms of my feet. Once I was pretty sure I had a good flow going, I ran forward and put my foot on the rock. I lifted my other foot up and started running up it, perfectly at first, but a few steps later and I lost my grip and fell off, banging my head on the hard mountain peak, cracking it open. "Ow," I said, raising to a sitting position and wiping blood from the gash in the back of my head. "Well that didn't work," I deduced, as I got back to my feet. I made the sign again and focused chakra into my feet. This felt steadier than the first time, and I figured I would get a little farther than before. I hit the rock and ran up it, and I got about six steps farther than before. But then, instead of slipping off, the rock cracked where my foot was and I realized that if I continued any farther, I would shatter it and drop, and if I was high enough, I was liable to kill myself.

I cancelled my chakra-grip and jumped off, landing on both feet and looking up the rock. If I could master three _Fire Style_ jutsu, I could master this. I made the sign and ran up the rock. This time, I went straight to the top, jumped up, and landed on the peak. I turned around and looked down at Kakashi, a successful smile on my face. "Good job," he said. "Now come on down, I want to show you something else." I jumped down and Kakashi turned around and walked towards the back of the mountain. At the back was a small lake that was about a foot deep. "Now, I'm going to show you what you'll be doing next," and he made the same sign, then walked into the lake. No, he didn't walk into the lake, he walked _on_ it. He was literally standing on the water, floating as if he were on solid ground.

"I…did not see that coming," I said, watching him float on the water without fear of falling in.

"That's what you'll be learning next," Kakashi said as he walked back onto solid land. "Much like the wall-walk technique, use the Ram sign to focus your chakra into the bottoms of your feet. Unlike the wall-walk, however, you have to keep the chakra steadily changing, to keep with the depth of the water. Now obviously, these constant changes won't be big, and after a while, I promise this'll become second nature to you. But in the meantime, this probably won't be an easy task for you, even with a dormant _Rinnegan_. Now, like I said, Ram and focus your chakra into the bottoms of your feet, and then once you get on the water, keep your chakra constantly changing, to keep with the constantly changing depth of the water," he repeated as I made the sign.

I focused the chakra into the bottoms of my feet and walked out onto the water. I guess I should say I walked _into_ the water, as the moment my second foot left land, I was up to my shins. "Awesome," I said sarcastically as I walked out and made the sign again. This time, I focused more of my chakra, and when I hit the water, I managed to stay up for about a second, and then I was in again. "Okay, well, I guess all I can do is try again," I said, jumping out, making the hand sign and jumping back on. I did a lot better this time. I managed to stay on, and then keep my chakra with it, but from lack of experience, I couldn't keep it up for more than five seconds and was back in again. I tried again, and got it for about seven seconds, but lost control and was back in again. With each failure, I became more and more determined to get it right, but then I had to ask myself something in my head.

When was I going to be using this jutsu in the future? Was I going to be fighting on Lake Erie or something? I didn't share this with Kakashi, and instead, got back out and tried again. I would have held on, but some stupid toad jumped in and the resulting ripple literally launched me into the air and sent me crashing onto my butt against the rock of the mountain. "Guh…ow," I said, sure I had just fractured my pelvis bone. I got up shakily, owing to the pain of my bottom. I got out of the water, made the sign, and tried again. This time, I managed to keep on the water and keep with the changes in depth, but then a huge boulder landed in the water at the backs of my feet and I went sailing into the air, flipped over myself, and landed on my back in the water, my body now completely wet. "What the heck was that for!" I said, gasping for air as I looked up at Kakashi.

"Just wanted to see how proficient you were with the jutsu," he said, which would have been a lot more forgivable if he had had an apologetic smile on his face or something while saying it. Instead, all he had was an expressionless look. I decided to drop it right there and get back up to continue. I got on the water and kept my chakra constantly changing, and turned around to see Kakashi picking up several small rocks. He threw them one at a time all around me, and I kept up with them to perfection, and Kakashi kept reloading, so I couldn't let down my guard. Finally, he picked up about ten rocks and threw them at the same time, and they all hit the water, causing ten waves of ripples to come at me. I managed to keep on top of them all and not fall in, and Kakashi seemed impressed, but it didn't seem he was done yet. A huge splash from behind me sent a huge ripple that I just barely managed to stay on top of, being forced to go on all fours just to keep from falling face-first into the rock.

I turned around and saw another Kakashi standing there, the original having disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Good job, a little more practice, and you'll have that jutsu down pat. In the meantime, it's time to work on something else," he informed me.

"Yeah? Like what?" I asked, eager to learn something that would most definitely help me through the third exam. "Well, unfortunately, a month is nowhere _near_ enough to teach you all the things I'd _like_ to, but we'll have to do with what we have to teach you what I can. Now, I noticed you were having some trouble with the _Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu_ before the exams…" My eyes lit up as he said this. I had been wanting to continue working on that jutsu, and fully intended to during my month off.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I backed up, panting but smiling, at the results of my training so far. I was bruised and beaten, but that was just what happened after training with Pervy-Sage, who was watching me with a proud smile on his face. "Way to go, kid, you're progressing more quickly than last time, at this rate, you're gonna be ready for that tournament in a week," he said to me. I laughed in delight, wishing that tournament would come sooner than a month. Then my mind strayed past my own training to wondering how Matt was doing.

[Gaara's point-of-view] "Hm? Whatcha thinking about?" Kankuro said as he and Temari turned around to look at me.

"I was just wondering how well that boy will do," I answered, unable to get his bloody and beaten body out of my mind.

"If the rumors are true, he should do fantastically," said Temari.

"Hm? Oh, you mean about him having…" Kankuro said, looking at our sister with mild interest.

"Right," she answered with a smile. At this, I went back to pondering the future in store for that boy, the American shinobi.

[Hatsuji's point-of-view] I watched Daiyuma assist Koruki in her training, the latter becoming more and more confident with her jutsu with every passing minute. I chose not to train, as these fools had no business knowing the jutsu I possess. I smiled to myself, thinking about how I was going to break the Nara brat in two.

[Rock Lee's point-of-view] My sister and I exchanged blows, neither of us managing to land one into the other. Finally, Amachi got down and swung her leg up, and brought it down, making me lower my guard in surprise and letting her land it in the top of my head. My chin buried itself in the dirt, and I was knocked senseless, unable to get up for a moment. I finally got to my knees and said, "Not bad, you are becoming stronger every day."

"And it's all thanks to you, brother," she said admiringly, making me smile in pride. I rushed back to my feet and charged, not going to make it so easy for her.

[Shikamaru Nara's point-of-view] Kunai and shuriken lay all over the place, and Ino and Choji were both down panting, Ino on her knees, Choji on his back. I was kneeling, panting just as heavily as either of them from lack of chakra, while Asuma-sensei lurked in the background watching us fight. Now more than ever, I remembered why I was so foreboding about the exams last time around; all I wanted to do was take a nap. Although I wasn't sure I would have to wait long, considering who my opponent was. The only one I've ever seen who is as intimidating as that Hatsuji is Gaara, and his new outlook on things made him look like an angel compared to Hatsuji.

[Matt's point-of-view] A month passed, and it was the day before the third exam was to begin. With all the new jutsu Kakashi had taught me, I was now more confident than ever about the exams. We were now back in the village and I immediately went home to crash in my nice, comfortable bed. In less than twelve hours, I would be fighting my way through to become a chunin, and I was going straight for the top. With this firmly lodged in my mind, I closed my eyes and awaited the next day.

Author's Note: To those of you who have become loyal readers to the story, thank you. I realize this season was a little touch-and-go throughout, but I was still a bit of an amateur when all of this was written. I guarantee you Season Two will be better. For now, though, I'm going to take a break from posting, in order to do some other things. Season Two will air on July 2nd, and I dearly hope you will be awaiting that day.

In other news, Naruto Chronicles has officially joined the world of wiki. I know that this season has probably left a lot of questions, and I created a wikia for the story in order to hopefully answer all these questions. However, since this wiki has only recently been created, it is in its early stages, and any assistance in building it would be greatly appreciated. In order to view the wiki, just go to narutochronicle(dot)com. I will be spending the next four weeks building it up, trying to get it ready in time for Season Two. Till then, and have an awesome first month of Summer!

EDIT: Go to narutochronicle(dot)wikia(dot)com, not narutochronicle(dot)com. Sorry for the mistake. Also, there is no 's' on the end of chronicle.


	25. Chapter 25: Brawn Over Brain

So, who's actually been waiting for this to be posted? Anyway, the wiki is almost up and running, I just have to add a few more pages. Well, here is the Season Two premiere of Naruto Chronicles. Hope you all enjoy.

BRAWN OVER BRAIN

The twelve of us stood in an outdoor arena about the same size as the one in the tower, except it was circular, and huge stands lined the top which were filled with spectators. All of the Feudal Lords (self-explanatory, people elected to resolve threats to their village via diplomacy or war) had the best seats in the house, right under Tsunade, the Leaf Lord, and Ibiki. Genma stood in front of us, facing the spectators and waiting for something, what, I don't know. Finally, Tsunade spoke to the spectators; "Hello, and welcome to the Leaf Village's 2007 mid-year Chunin Selection Exams. We hope that you will enjoy the matches, and we ask that you please remain in your seats for the duration of the exam." She nodded at Genma, who turned around to face us.

"Alright, just as a reminder, there are no rules in these matches, so I suggest you be on your guard, understood? Alright, the first two opponents, stay here, everyone else make your way up to the candidate's box and wait there until it is your turn." Shikamaru and Hatsuji Korero remained. Hatsuji had an overconfident smile, like he knew he was going to win. Shikamaru looked like he was predicting his death in the near future. "Alright, begin!" said Genma, jumping out of the way.

Hatsuji made the first move, charging with his fist raised. Shikamaru kneeled down and prepared to defend himself. When Hatsuji was five feet away from Shikamaru, "_Shadow Possession Jutsu!_" Hatsuji ran right into it and stopped cold, then knelt down in a mirror imitation of Shikamaru. While training, Kakashi told me every single jutsu each contestant had used in the preliminary, what it was and how it worked, so I wouldn't be constantly asking questions, which was the inevitable result if he had not done so. The only person he left out in this explanation was Naruto, saying that it would be "More beneficial for me if I didn't know what was coming to give me a little more of a head when fighting unknown enemies." Despite saying this, I couldn't help but have a slight suspicion that he was just playing favorites.

Regardless, I at least knew what I was up against with Koruki Matanu. In the match, it looked like Shikamaru had him, but then Hatsuji smiled evilly, and slowly got back to his feet. "Wait, I thought he had him?" I said to Naruto.

"Yeah, he did, but Hatsuji broke free," he told me. He looked amazed that anyone could do that.

"Gah! No!" Shikamaru said desperately, focusing more of his chakra into his shadow to keep Hatsuji restrained, but it was useless. Hatsuji broke free of the _Shadow Possession_, knocking Shikamaru onto his back while Hatsuji walked over to him. He picked Shikamaru up by his shirt and lifted him into the air, aiming his fist at him. Shikamaru made a sign and said, "_Shadow Posse_-ah!" Hatsuji landed his fist into Shikamaru's face before he could complete the jutsu and sent him rolling ten feet away. Shikamaru struggled to his knees, but not in time to counter Hatsuji charging him and landing his fist in Shikamaru's face again. Before Shikamaru hit the ground, Hatsuji charged, wrapped his hand around Shikamaru's throat, drove him across the arena, and slammed him against the wall.

While still being pinned by the throat, Shikamaru made a sign and said, "_Shadow Strangle Jutsu!_" The shadow-hands crept up Hatsuji's body and restrained his arms, pulling his hand off of Shikamaru's throat, making him drop to the ground and gasp for air. Just when we thought the _Shadow Strangle Jutsu_ was a success, Hatsuji landed his foot in Shikamaru's stomach, embedding him into the wall. The moment his foot made contact with Shikamaru, the shadow-hands receded into the dust concealing Shikamaru. The dust cleared and Shikamaru was gone, throwing Hatsuji off guard for a moment.

He almost immediately recovered and turned around to find Shikamaru on the other side of the arena, gasping for air and wiping blood from his chin. "Man, there's only one person I've _ever_ seen who's strong enough to break free from my _Shadow Possession Jutsu_," he said to himself, looking like he was thinking about what he was going to do next. Kakashi had told me that this guy had an IQ of over two-hundred, and I wanted to see those numbers in action. Just when I thought he was going to do something that would not have crossed the mind of anyone else in here, he said, "Well, it looks like this is as far as I go. If my _Shadow Possession_ and _Shadow Strangle_ don't work, I don't really know any other jutsu. And this isn't exactly the perfect place to use ninja tools, so…."

He then smiled in a defeated way to himself, and Naruto seemed to be shaking in a mixture of fear and anger, saying, "No, don't do it. Don't do it, Shikamaru, don't do it!" At first, I wondered what he was talking about, but then I remembered something about what Kakashi had told me:

_He's extremely intelligent, arguably the smartest fighter in the village. And this intelligence is matched only by his laziness. He will refuse to fight if he can avoid it, and would much rather take a nap instead. He's so lazy, in fact, that instead of finishing his opponent and moving on, he'll probably back him into a corner, put himself one step away from victory without his opponent being able to counter…and just give up so he won't have to fight in the next round. That is how lazy he is. _

I figured if this guy could just give up when he had the match won, he was probably going to surrender now, but then I remembered something else Kakashi told me.

_Although, the fact that he signed up for the Chunin Exams despite his already being a chunin, just to see how far he could truly go is a new trait portrayed by him. If he truly dedicates himself to this, he could very well fight his way right to the top. This guy is so strong that Lady Tsunade, upon hearing of his decision to participate in the exams, has decided to watch him especially closely, and dependant upon how well he performs in them, she may very well promote him to a jonin, which is the same ninja rank as me._

I took in this second piece of information and came to the conclusion that even if none of Shikamaru's jutsu worked against this guy, he would still probably find a way to beat him. Finally, Shikamaru took on a determined, but nervous expression as he made a hand sign. "_Ninja Art: Shadow Dome Jutsu!_" His shadow stretched into a perfect circle around him, then rose up and formed a dome around him, hiding him from sight and protecting him from Hatsuji.

_What's he gonna do now?_ I asked myself, looking at the dome containing Shikamaru.

"He's planning his next move," said Naruto from beside me, as if he had read my mind.

"Think you can hide from me, eh? Well, think again!" Hatsuji said, holding up his fist. "_Boulder Breaker!_" He charged Shikamaru's _Shadow Dome_ with his fist raised. He made contact with the _Dome_, sending a ground-shattering shockwave across the arena that did exactly that twenty feet around them. Not even a scratch formed on the dome, or on Hatsuji as he jumped back and prepared for his next attack. Just when Hatsuji was about to charge again, the _Shadow Dome_ exploded, revealing Shikamaru looking much more confident than before.

"Alright, I've got you beaten, so here goes, _Shadow Possession Jutsu!_" His shadow stretched across the ground and Hatsuji leaped back out of the way, laughing and saying,

"Come on, that's getting just a bit old, don't you think?"

"Oh yeah? Well how about this!" Shikamaru said, and he redirected his shadow towards the wall of the arena, and it stretched all the way across, using the shadows of the wall to keep itself going, until the wall was covered in Shikamaru's shadow, and Hatsuji couldn't use them.

"Interesting, but that doesn't mean you've won," Hatsuji said. And he threw four shuriken at Shikamaru, who rolled out of the way, keeping his shadow on the wall. "Let's see you dodge this," Hatsuji said as he landed and held out his fist. "_Boulder Breaker!_" He charged with his fist raised, and Shikamaru prepared to move. He rolled out of the way again and Hatsuji embedded his fist into the wall, blowing a wide but shallow crater in the arena and bringing rubble down on top of him. Shikamaru's shadow caught the shadow of Hatsuji's fist and the entire thing unwound and converged to a straight path between Hatsuji and Shikamaru. Hatsuji's fist was trapped in the wall, and since he was caught in Shikamaru's shadow, he was forced to pull it out, cutting it open in several places, and he kneeled on the ground in a mirror image of Shikamaru.

"Alright, it's time to end this," Shikamaru said, and he made another hand sign. Before he could say the name of his jutsu, Hatsuji broke free of the _Shadow Possession_, knocking Shikamaru off his feet and onto his back. Hatsuji picked him up by the neck before he could recover and landed his fist into Shikamaru's face. Shikamaru rolled five feet away with a bloody, and probably broken nose, but immediately got back to his feet to leap away from Hatsuji, who pulled out a kunai. Shikamaru landed at the base of the wall, and ducked Hatsuji's kunai, then pulled out a few knives of his own. He threw five knives at Hatsuji, who pulled out another kunai and blocked all of them. Before Shikamaru could react, Hatsuji embedded his kunai into his shoulder, knocking him back to the ground with blood staining his shirt.

Shikamaru tried to get back to his feet, but it was probably the pain that kept him down and helpless as Hatsuji walked towards him with another kunai. Hatsuji was five feet away when Shikamaru finally got the strength to get up and leap away before Hatsuji could finish him. While still in the air, Shikamaru threw a kunai at Hatsuji, and the kunai had a small white ball attached to it with some tripwire. Kakashi had told me all about Shikamaru, and he also told me that, aside from _Shadow Possession Jutsu_, he also specialized in attaching bombs to kunai to trip up his opponents and hit them where it hurts. The kunai hit the ground at Hatsuji's feet and the white ball exploded, engulfing ten feet of the arena in an explosion. The flames cleared, and instead of a charred body laying there, there was a black log covered in ash.

"Darnnit," Shikamaru said, preparing for Hatsuji's next attack. The ground exploded at Shikamaru's feet, and Hatsuji shot up with his fist raised, and landed it in Shikamaru's chin, knocking him into the air and smacking him into the wall. Hatsuji landed on the opposite side of the hole of Shikamaru, who slid down the wall and landed in a sitting position, looking barely conscious. Hatsuji had an evil grin on his face, and Shikamaru finally fell under, his head sliding to the ground. I looked around, somewhat stunned by the silence that had engulfed the arena. Every single resident of the Hidden Leaf was in utter shock, there mouths and eyes wide. Even Kakashi looked disturbed by this victory.

"Gah! I don't believe it. It's the first time Shikamaru's lost a fight," Naruto said next to me. Medical ninja came out of the ground entrances, put Shikamaru on a stretcher, and ran off to make room for the next match: Kankuro versus Amachi Lee.


	26. Chapter 26: The Beauty and the Puppet

Author's Note: Just so you all know, there will be no chapter next week.

THE BEAUTY AND THE PUPPET MASTER

Kankuro and Amachi Lee jumped down from the candidate's stand and went to the center of the arena, where Genma was. "Alright, Amachi, Kankuro, you ready?"

"Yeah," they both said.

"Then begin!"

Kankuro didn't even bother to hide his jutsu, and one of the mummies on his back immediately unraveled and revealed the puppet that I figured had to have been Crow, based on Kakashi's description. The chakra strings formed from Kankuro's fingers to Crow, who flew up and shot at Amachi, a blade coming out of one of its hands. Amachi ducked and Crow flew passed, but then came back up and dive-bombed her, aiming its blade at her torso. Amachi turned around and got on all fours, then sent her leg up and landed it in Crow's chest, knocking him off-course and sending him flying through the air. Amachi got back to her feet and leaped up after Crow, "_Leaf Hurricane!_" She spun around and landed her foot in the side of Crow's neck, knocking him back to the ground, but he bounced back up and Kankuro put him back to fighting mode again.

Crow shot up fifty feet in the air, well beyond Amachi's range, and dozens of fire-bombs, the little white balls that Shikamaru had used, dropped out of his mouth, raining down on Amachi like a firestorm, and blew apart the ground of the arena, sending rubble in every direction. Amachi ran up the wall, trying to avoid the blasts, but Kankuro was one step ahead of her. Crow fired five more fireballs at the wall near where Amachi was running, and it was lucky that the stands were on the opposite sides of the arena, because the bombs blew apart a fine line of the wall, leaving a ten-foot wide hole in it all the way up. I figured Amachi's body must have been incinerated in the explosion, but I was wrong. A kunai landed in Crow's back and the paper-bomb wrapped around the handle detonated, blowing Crow apart and sending pieces of him raining across the ground.

Kankuro turned around and saw Amachi leaning against the wall with a smug grin on her face. "You're pretty cocky, ya' know that?" said Kankuro, crossing his arms, preparing to counterattack. "I know you can beat me, just open up those gates of yours and I'm done for. The problem is, the Eight Inner Gates are a one-time-only attack, you miss once and you're done. And if I should, say, find away to block your attacks with the Gates, then I've got this match in the bag," he said, and he pulled his arms and spread them out on either side of him, and the chakra strings pulled all the pieces of Crow together and he reassembled in front of him, ready to attack again. Amachi was still looking as smug and confident as ever, but she also looked like she didn't know what to do next. Finally, she charged Kankuro head-on, and Kankuro brought Crow down to defend with. Crow sprouted a blade on both of its upper hands, and Amachi leaped straight over him.

"_Leaf Hurricane!_" Her foot made contact with the side of Kankuro's neck, but instead of being sent flying, he stayed right where he was, and the skin around Amachi's foot cracked. The second mummy on Kankuro's back unraveled to reveal the real Kankuro, and the original burst into sand and revealed the Black Ant. Black Ant's torso opened up and chakra strings shot out, wrapping around Amachi and pulling her inside. Before Kankuro could do anything else, "_The First Gate, Gate of Opening: Open!_" and Black Ant burst apart, Amachi flying out and landing on the wall. Her veins were pulsating and her muscles were larger than before, and she looked more smug than ever, only to make Kankuro smile in amusement.

"Man, you really think you're all that. Oh well, it's gonna make it all the more worth savoring when I beat you into the dirt," he said, reassembling the Black Ant at the same time. Crow came around and joined them, and he and the Black Ant charged Amachi at the same time. She leaped out of the way of Crow, and while in the air, landed both feet on Black Ant and used him as a springboard to propel herself further into the air, out of Kankuro's reach. She landed on top of one of the spectator's stands and sat down cross-legged. She stood back up and held out what I guessed must have been the leg-weights Kakashi told me about. "How ya' doin'?" Before she could drop them, Kankuro popped up out of nowhere from behind her and landed his fist in her back, knocking her off the spectator's stand and sending her smashing into the ground.

I looked back over at the original Kankuro and saw that it was just a boulder from a _Substitution Jutsu_. Amachi's weights landed and formed large craters on either side of her, and she just laid there, making me wonder of she was unconscious. Kankuro seemed to be wondering the same thing, because instead of dive-bombing her, his puppets were circling him in the air, waiting for whatever happened next. Finally, she got back to her feet and looked back up at Kankuro, wiping blood from her lip. "Not bad, but it's not good enough," and she jumped up and ran up the wall towards Kankuro, who sent his puppets to intercept her. Crow attacked first, coming after her with his palm-blades, but Amachi jumped off the wall and flew across the arena, Black Ant on her tail.

She saw him coming, and spun around, landing her foot in his neck and knocking him out of the air, but Crow followed up with a fire-bomb that landed right on top of her. The bomb exploded, sending her flying through the air and smashing into the ground, then rolling into a wall. Kankuro leaped into the air to keep in range and sent both Crow and Black Ant after her, Black Ant first, Crow second. Black Ant smashed into her, bringing up a huge dust cloud, and was quickly joined by Crow, who had his blades out when he went in. The dust cleared to reveal Crow in front and Black Ant in back, both with blades out and both having run through a log.

"Wait what?" Naruto said, looking at the log with big eyes.

"Yeah, it's a…_Substitution Jutsu_, it's like…the most basic jutsu in creation," I said, wondering why Naruto was so surprised to see that this was a fake.

Naruto looked at Rock Lee and said, "But Lee, you don't know ninjutsu."

"He's kidding, right?" I said, looking at Lee. Kakashi had told me that Lee only used taijutsu, but he conveniently forgot to mention that that was because Lee didn't _know_ any ninjutsu.

Lee smiled and said, "No, he is not. I have never had any aptitude for ninjutsu or genjutsu, which is basically illusions, by the way, and I could never perform any of it, not even the most basic technique. This is why I developed my taijutsu to such an extent, to make up for my lack of those other jutsu. Amachi, however, she has never had those problems. She is perfectly capable of ninjutsu, and even knows a few, aside from the basics. However, she wanted to learn more taijutsu, like me, so she asked me to teach her, and so here she is."

"Oh," I said, not sure what else to say as I looked back at the match. Amachi still hadn't turned up, and Kankuro had his puppets circling the arena while he looked around for her, but she didn't attack. Finally, Kankuro brought his puppets back and had them circle him, waiting for Amachi.

"Where is she?" I asked no one in particular, looking around the arena, wondering where she was hiding.

Finally, Genma said, "If the opponent does not return to the battlefield within thirty seconds, it will be counted a forfeit, and Kankuro will be declared the winner." The instant he spoke the last word, Amachi appeared out of thin air right behind Kankuro and landed her fist right into the back of his head. He landed flat on his face, and both of his puppets collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap, their master no longer controlling them. Amachi came around and kicked Kankuro in the stomach, sending him sliding across the arena and slamming into the wall. He got back to his feet, and so did his puppets, both of which charged her from either side.

She ducked, and they landed their blades in each other, running each other through completely. They both wrenched their blades out and sent them down at Amachi, who rolled back out of the way. Crow opened his mouth and shot a barrage of kunai at Amachi, who leaped out of the way and landed on the wall. Crow came after her, but Black Ant stayed put, probably to follow up after Crow. Amachi dropped off the wall and Crow embedded his blade in it right up to where his hand was touching the wall. Crow shot another barrage of kunai down at Amachi, who crossed her arms to block, and was hit with every single knife, all of her limbs covered in them. She hit the ground and became engulfed in a puff of smoke, coming out as a log. Black Ant burst apart as Amachi landed on him, and immediately reassembled and made way as Crow pulled himself free and charged.

He tried to hit her from behind, but she saw him coming and leaped out of the way, and rained kunai down on top of her, landing them in his arms, shoulders and collar. Kankuro had Crow pull the kunai out of him while Black Ant came up after her, two of its blades revealed. She swayed out of the way of one and ducked as Black Ant followed through with a sweeping slash from the same blade, then landed its second blade in her stomach, but she turned into a log again and was gone. She appeared in the air, and landed on the ground and slid towards Crow, who prepared to counterattack. She turned around and came up, landing her foot in his stomach and sending him flying away, but was followed up by Black Ant charging her from underneath.

She placed her palms on his torso to keep him from ramming her, and slammed him into the ground, shattering him to pieces, while she flipped back to her feet and jumped over to the wall. Kankuro reassembled Black Ant, but instead of attacking, both puppets stayed put, floating motionlessly in the air. "This is never gonna work," Kankuro said quietly to himself. The chakra strings on his fingers disappeared and both Crow and Black Ant dropped to the ground. He reached back and pulled the scroll off his back, unhooked it, and rolled it across the ground. On it was the Japanese kanji for 'seal', I think, I still wasn't used to the language, but it also had a circular design around it. Kankuro bit his thumb, cutting it open.

"Um, am I the only one seeing this? Dude just bit his own thumb open, what's his problem?" I said, looking around for answers.

"Just wait and watch," Naruto said, eyes on the match.

Kankuro made some hand signs, but instead of casting a jutsu, he said, "You're already acquainted my first two puppets, Crow and Black Ant, but they aren't my only puppets. I have a third, more powerful one, and here it is. _Summoning Jutsu!_" He slammed his hand with the bloody thumb on the scroll, palm-first, right on top of the 'seal' kanji, and a huge puff of smoke engulfed him while his two puppets came back up and floated in the air, waiting for Kankuro to reappear. The smoke cleared and my jaw dropped. "_Salamander!_" Kankuro said, which was a pretty accurate name for it.

It was a huge lizard, three feet tall and ten feet long from head to tail, with a shell on its back that depicted a Japanese divinity, which one, I didn't know, Shintoism was not my strong point, but his mouth was big enough to swallow Amachi whole with room enough to fit Kankuro in too, and who knew what kind of gizmos this one had. Amachi dropped to the ground and crossed her arms, and I could only come to one conclusion to what she was doing, based on what Kakashi told me about her. "_First Gate, Gate of Opening: Open!_" I hadn't noticed it before, but her veins had disappeared, and then it hit me. When she had disappeared after that first _Substitution_, she was recovering from opening the Gate of Opening the first time.

But this time, she wasn't done. "_The Second Gate, Gate of Rest: Open! Third Gate, Gate of Life: Open!_" Her skin turned red and her pupils disappeared, her chakra tearing up the ground around her. She prepared to charge, and Kankuro readied his three puppets, saying, "Here we go."


	27. Chapter 27: Puppet Show of Death

Author's Note: I had uploaded this chapter previously today, but as I read over it in order to update the wiki (which you people should visit, by the way), I noticed that the grammar in the chapter was horrible. Granted, I haven't read over the other chapters, but I am willing to bet the same can be said for them. Just know that as the season continues, the grammar will gradually improve. So will the battle scenes, I might add. Anyway, here is the new and improved version of Chapter 27. P.S.: You guys should really visit the wiki. And edit it too :D. Creating and managing two-hundred pages on my own is a royal pain in the ass.

PUPPET SHOW OF DEATH

"_Summoning Jutsu: Salamander!_" A huge salamander puppet appeared at Kankuro's side to go with Crow and Black Ant.

"_Second Gate, Gate of Rest: Open! Third Gate, Gate of Life: Open!_" Amachi's veins pulsated, her muscles enlarged, her skin became red, and her pupils disappeared. She charged Kankuro at the speed of light, but he was ready for her, as he put Salamander in front of him. Salamander was so big and heavy that he didn't even budge when Amachi smashed into him. She almost cracked him in half at his abdomen, however, but he was still functional, as he opened his mouth and shot a gush of flame at her. She just barely managed to leap out of the way of it, and she landed and slid across the ground all the way to the wall, having to put her feet to it to stop herself from slamming into it. She immediately sprang off of it and flew towards Kankuro with her fist raised, her chakra amping it up as she flew.

Salamander jumped in the way and fired off another gush of flame at her, but she managed to catch the ground with her feet and then make a spectacular leap fifty feet into the air to avoid it. Crow flew up after her with two of his blades extended, and tried to run her through with one, but she lowered herself out of the way and planted both feet on his torso. She used him as a springboard and leaped off of him towards the ground, knocking him through the air. She landed and charged Kankuro at light-speed, but he was ready for her. He leaped out of the way the instant before Amachi would have smashed him into a pulp, bringing all three of his puppets up with him. Crow dropped about a half-dozen fire-bombs down at Amachi, who had stopped where Kankuro had jumped from and was now glaring up at him.

The bombs hit the ground all around her, and she leaped up, probably partially to get out of the way, partially to try and land a hit in on Kankuro. Before she could get up to him, Salamander intercepted her and blew a gush of flame down at her that hit her directly and sent her back down to the ground with the fire-bombs. The rest of the fire hit the bombs and detonated them, causing a compacted but ridiculously powerful explosion that could probably be felt throughout the entirety of the Hidden Leaf. The fire cleared and there was a smoking crater in the ground, in the center of which was some unidentifiable thing that could have been either a log or a body. Apparently it was the former. A second after Kankuro landed, Crow shattered and cascaded across the ground, making Kankuro gasp in surprise.

He didn't have time to reassemble him as Amachi came back around and invisibly slammed into Kankuro's front, sending him flying across the arena and smashing into the wall. He lost his concentration with his other two puppets when he hit, so they went flying right along with him and smashed into pieces on contact, leaving all three of his puppets destroyed. The dust cleared and Kankuro tried to get back to his feet, but Amachi slammed him back into the wall again and possibly knocked him out. And the only reason I say that is because I would be dead if I had taken that much pounding. But no, Kankuro just got right back to his feet like he had been tripped, never mind the fact that his head and shoulder had been cut open and were bleeding all over the place, and the little hood he wore on top of his head had been torn off, revealing short, spiky, brown hair.

Kankuro took his thumb and wiped some of the blood from the cut on his forehead out of his eye and made the same signs as before. I thought he was going to summon a fourth puppet to attack Amachi with, but I was wrong…sort of. "_Summoning: Puppet Wall!_" He slammed his hand on the ground, where a circular design appeared centered around the hand (also known as a 'summoning seal', which I found out on my exploits through the Hidden Leaf Library and jutsu encyclopedias). Amachi appeared towards the other end of the arena, waiting for what Kankuro was about to summon, but then decided she didn't want to find out, and charged again. A huge puff of smoke appeared, immersing Kankuro completely. Then, a loud clang, a crack, and a big shockwave later (all in the time length of about a second), the smoke was blown away to reveal Kankuro sitting on the ground.

Amachi had her fist embedded inside a huge wall, made of the same type of metal as Kankuro's puppets that was ten feet long and seven feet tall. "There, that should hold you," Kankuro said as he crossed his arms. His puppets started slowly reassembling themselves, while at the same time, the three gates Amachi opened closed, leaving her white-skinned, pupils in her eyes, and so exhausted she couldn't stand up. She fell to her knees and coughed up blood several times in succession and had her free arm wrapped around her stomach while her other arm was still trapped in the wall Kankuro had summoned. Eventually, the wall disappeared in a puff of smoke and Amachi automatically wrapped that arm around her stomach as well, acting like her stomach had been torn apart. Although, judging by what Kakashi told me about the Eight Gates, and the damage emitted to the body by opening them, it probably was.

"Oh no…Amachi," Lee whispered, looking desperately down at his sister, helpless to do anything.

"Alright, you're done, just give up while you still have a chance," Kankuro said, all three of his puppets fully reassembled and ready to go.

"Screw off," Amachi growled bitterly, hands still clasped around her stomach.

"Your funeral," Kankuro said, waiting for her to get back to her feet. About twenty seconds later, she tried to throw Kankuro off with a surprise attack, quickly getting to her feet and trying to land her fist into his fist, but he was too quick for her. He caught her fist with his bare hand, kneed her in the stomach, and pushed her away with the hand grabbing her fist, making her tumble across the ground five feet away. She got on all fours, trying to bring up the strength to get back on her feet, and Kankuro waited patiently for her. This wasn't exactly necessary, but it was polite, if anything. Finally, she got to her feet, but didn't charge, probably because she knew that wouldn't work. She pulled out a kunai and attacked, but Kankuro was ready for her. He maneuvered Crow in the way and she embedded the tip of her kunai into his torso, and, not even fazed, Crow revealed two of his blades and tried to run her through with them.

Amachi let go of her kunai just in time and backed up out of the way, probably too hurt and exhausted to jump. She just barely got out of the way of Crow, who was immediately followed up by Black Ant, who came over Crow and flew over Amachi, raining fire-bombs down on top of her. The sudden danger provided by the bombs gave her the strength to leap out of the way just before they detonated. Kankuro also leaped back out of the way, bringing his three puppets with him, leaving the fire-bombs to blow another crater into the ground. Kankuro landed on the wall, then ran to the ground and charged at Amachi, who was towards the other end of the arena, bringing his puppets with him. Amachi didn't charge, or retreat, or do anything except stand there, waiting for Kankuro to get to her.

He got within twenty feet of her and sent Crow after her, who extended two of his blades to attack her with. Amachi simply ducked him and he flew by, then came around and dived back in for another attack. Amachi was too distracted with Crow to notice Black Ant coming up behind her and run her through. Unfortunately for Kankuro, she was just another _Substitution_, which became apparent when Black Ant stabbed her. A few kunai rained down on Crow, but it didn't even faze him (considering he was a puppet) and Kankuro had him take all the kunai out and drop them to the ground. Crow faced the direction that the kunai had come from and spat some of his own up towards an empty balcony. The kunai turned out to be fire-kunai, and they blew apart the balcony, prompting a few Leaf Ninja to use some random jutsu to pour water on the flames so the entire arena didn't burn.

Amachi appeared on the opposite end of the arena, but didn't do anything. Those Gates must hurt if opening three of them could reduce the fiery, overconfident power-house to this; someone who stayed back and attacked from a distance, and whose attacks barely did anything at all. Kankuro sent Crow after her, and the puppet extended all four of his blades as he flew. Amachi leaped up out of the way, and Crow flew right on passt, but then came back around and flew up at her. He sent two of his blades forward, and Amachi took out a kunai to block them. She managed to parry the first stab, the second grazed her shoulder, and I instantly knew Kankuro had won. So did Kankuro, as he retracted Crow with an evil, triumphant grin as Amachi landed on the ground, her arm covering her bleeding shoulder.

She looked like she wanted to go at him some more, but her shoulder was kind of getting in the way of that. "Don't even bother," said Kankuro with the same triumphant grin. "Crow's blades are laced with poison, all my puppets' blades are. You'll be dead in five minutes. You'd be saving your own life just to give it up now."

"_First Gate, Gate of Opening: Open!_" Her veins pulsated and her muscles enlarged, as she disregarded Kankuro's advice and charged.

"You're a stubborn one," he said as he summoned Salamander to his side. Her fist embedded in his body, but she planted her other hand on top of him, flipped over the puppet, and landed her heel in the top of Kankuro's head. He kept on his feet, but seemed to have had his senses knocked out of him (which is better than what would have happened to me), and he didn't counterattack. Amachi landed on the ground, spun around, and landed her foot in Kankuro's chin, making him float twenty feet into the air. He forcibly let go of his _Puppet Master Jutsu_ (the jutsu that controls his puppets), so his puppets didn't follow him, defend him, or do anything except crumple. Amachi got back to her feet and jumped, coming parallel with Kankuro, right behind him.

She spread her arms out and the bandages unraveled, she swung her arms inward, and the bandages wrapped around Kankuro's torso, pinning his arms to his sides. "_Primary Lotus!_" She grabbed Kankuro on both sides, and swung him so that their heads were pointing at the ground. She spun him around and they spiraled straight into the ground, bringing up dust and rubble. Amachi flew out of the dust and skidded to a stop twenty feet away, waiting for it to clear. When it did, Kankuro was laying half-buried, his feet sticking up at odd angles. They shook slightly, then fell so that he laid flat and unconscious. "The winner is Amachi Lee!" Genma said. Right at that moment, Amachi collapsed. It seemed the Gates and the poison in her arm was finally starting to take its toll.

More medical ninja paid attention to Amachi than Kankuro; she had been poisoned, he had had his head smashed into the ground from twenty feet in the air…I wasn't entirely sure who they should be treating first. Eventually, both of them were wheeled away on stretchers, Amachi's arm bleeding horribly, and Kankuro's head cracked open in three places. Now, it was time for the third match. Shino Aburame versus Gaara.


	28. Chapter 28: Bugs in the Desert

I decided to post this a little early, since I'm not entirely sure if I'll be able to tomorrow.

BUGS IN THE DESERT

"The winner is Amachi Lee!" Medical ninja rolled both Kankuro and Amachi away on stretchers to make room for the next match. The next two contestants, Shino Aburame and Gaara, stepped down from the contestant's stand and into the arena. "Alright, Gaara, Shino Aburame, are you two ready?"

"Yes," said Gaara.

"I can already tell I'm gonna regret this," Shino said tentatively.

"Before we begin," Gaara advised, "I want to tell you now that I am not the same person who fought last time. I will not kill unless absolutely necessary, so please, do not hesitate to come at me with full force." This piece of information seemed to reassure Shino not at all.

"Begin!" Genma said before Shino could surrender.

"Well, whatever, might as well give it a shot," he said as he raised his arms. A swarm of bugs flew out of both arms, and circled around Shino, waiting for Gaara to attack. Gaara summoned some sand to his aid from his gourd and had that circle him in the same fashion as Shino's bugs, but then almost immediately attacked Shino, whose bugs formed a shield to protect him. The bug-shield held just long enough for Shino to leap out of the way before the sand burst through. The sand homed in on Shino, who barrel-rolled out of the way and dived towards the ground. He landed on both feet, but immediately had to jump back up again to avoid being smashed by Gaara's sand. He sent a few swarms of bugs down at Gaara, who formed a wall of sand to block them. Gaara then disappeared in a burst of sand, and when Shino landed on the ground, reformed right behind him, sending his fist into the back of his head.

Shino rolled five feet across the ground, but jumped back to his feet and prepared his bugs for more. Gaara's sand burst right through the wall of bugs, wrapped around Shino's torso, and drove him across the arena, smashing him into the wall. "Awh," Shino groaned as he dropped to the ground. He struggled to his knees, but was almost immediately smashed back into the wall by a wave of sand, this time leaving an indentation. The sand came back and orbited around Gaara, waiting for Shino to get to his feet. Instead of rising to attack, Shino disappeared in a wave of bugs, much in the same way as Gaara, and reappeared behind him. Gaara's sand was too fast for Shino's fist, as it blocked it before he got within six inches. The sand wrapped around Shino's arm like a glove, lifted him up over Gaara, and tossed him into the ground.

He disappeared in a wave of bugs before he hit, then reformed on both feet near the center of the arena, about where he would have smashed into just now. Gaara was standing on a cloud of sand to keep himself elevated, as he glared expressionlessly down at Shino. I looked more closely at Shino and saw that he was panting heavily. I figured it took a lot of chakra to manipulate those bugs like that. Shino sent another swarm of bugs up at Gaara, whose sand flawlessly protected him. A few seconds later, I looked down at Kakashi, to see if he had noticed what I had, and he looked back up at me with an expression that made it crystal clear he noticed it, probably even before I did. I also looked over at Shikamaru, who was now out of the hospital and in the spectator's stand.

I figured he had probably noticed it too, and his expression said the same thing as Kakashi's. I looked around, including in the contestant's stand, and saw that we were the only three who had noticed what Shino had done, even Tsunade and Ibiki were clueless. If what Shino had in store worked, it could throw him the match. Gaara summoned some more sand from his gourd and shot it at Shino, who dived out of the way. At first, I was afraid for Shino's sake that maybe he had noticed it too, but a few seconds later, I realized I was wrong, as he used that sand to attack Shino next. He managed to dodge the second wave, only to have both piles of sand converge into one wave and shoot at him. Shino was knocked to the ground, spitting out blood and his sunglasses that he wore, which blacked out his eyes, shattered.

Kakashi told me that the glasses were just a commonness throughout the Aburame Clan. All of them used bugs in their attacks, and all of them had those black sunglasses. I couldn't see his eyes from where I was standing, but it didn't really matter, I wasn't exactly one who focused on a person's eyes anyway, except for reading their thoughts (and I don't mean I have telepathy, I just know how to tell what's going through people's heads, it's a gift, don't question it). Shino was back on his feet, albeit shakily, and fired three swarms of bugs at Gaara, but this time, Shino was smart. He had them swerve around the shield and managed to get in behind Gaara's defenses. Gaara just barely managed to shoot out of the way on his cloud of sand, and the bugs missed him by about two centimeters…literally.

His sand followed him, but then shot back down at Shino in two waves, one to distract the wall of bugs while the other hit Shino. The first one did its job to perfection, and the second one would have too, if Shino hadn't been smart enough to roll out of the way. The sand dug into the ground, and Shino jumped just before it burst back out again right under him. The sand grabbed Shino's leg and pulled him back down, smashing him into the ground. He got shakily back to his feet, only to be rammed in the stomach by the same wave of sand. He was back on the ground with blood trickling from his mouth. This Gaara guy just couldn't be beaten. It made me nervous about having to face him in the next round, assuming I made it that far.

Shino rolled onto his stomach and rose to his hands, unable to get to his feet. Gaara patiently waited for him to get top his feet, and when he did, he even let him summon some bugs to his aid. But that was the end of Gaara's mercy, as he shot a stream of sand down at Shino, who couldn't summon up enough chakra to make his bugs perform an efficient shield. The sand burst right through the meager defense the bugs set up and crashed into the ground at Shino's feet, sending him flying through the air and rolling across the ground, slamming back-first into the wall of the arena. He didn't get up again, and it looked like he was unconscious…Gaara had won. Of course Shino was too stubborn to know when he was beaten.

That was when I remembered what he had done earlier in the match. If Shino timed it right, he might actually beat Gaara. He struggled back to his feet, blood trickling from both sides of his mouth, as he summoned a larger swarm of bugs to assist him. Gaara didn't attack, instead keeping his sand to defend him against any attack that Shino made. Before any of us knew what was going on, Shino appeared behind Gaara, inside his clouds of sand, while the other one, the _Bug Clone_ I guessed, disappeared. Gaara didn't see it coming either, and his sand wasn't quick enough to defend him. Shino's fist landed in Gaara's cheek and he flew off his sand-cloud and landed on the ground. Just before Shino had hit, Gaara activated his _Sand Armor_, which took the blow for him. And was now cracked because of it. Shino formed a cloud of bugs under him to keep him elevates and shot a huge swarm of them down at Gaara. Gaara's sand enveloped him in a protective dome that the bugs couldn't penetrate, and instead retreated back to Shino.

The moment the bugs were back with Shino, Gaara sent a wave of sand at him that he jumped out of the way of. The sand smashed into the ground, but it came back up, going after Shino again. Shino dived out of the way, and instead of going after him, Gaara brought his sand back to him to wait for Shino's next attack. Shino had been panting heavily up until now, but then calmed down and breathed normally, building up his chakra for his next attack. He pointed his hands out at Gaara, and then released a swarm of bugs from his them. I thought it was just another typical swarm, but when the bugs didn't stop coming, I knew this was something entirely different. The bugs all flew up into the sky above the arena and amassed, making a giant ball about fifty feet in diameter. "_Parasitic Insects: Hailstorm!_"

The insects shot out of the ball, flying at Gaara in balls about a half-foot in diameter. Gaara's sand immediately shot up to defend him, when Shino's plan took effect. The sand collapsed and fell to the ground, leaving Gaara speechless with shock. Before he could fully register what had just happened, the insects were on top of him. Most of them flew around him, but the ones that did hit him hit hard. One hit him in the stomach, making him double over in pain, and then he took another to the shoulder, which knocked him off his sand cloud and sent him slamming to the ground. The giant ball of insects came down, landing on top of Gaara with about a ton of pressure. The ball smashed apart on contact with the ground and Gaara, flooding the arena with insects. The ones that would have hit Shino got back up into the air and flew back to Shino, crawling back into his arms and waiting for Shino's next orders.

At first, I thought Gaara had been killed, but then his chakras flared, and the air was filled with its power…if what Kakashi had told me about him was true, I was pretty sure I knew what had just happened. The bugs flew back to Shino, crawling back up his arms and down his shirt to return to his body, which was where he kept them. Gaara stood there, the Shukaku covering the left half of his body and his tail swishing around through the air behind him. I looked in his eyes and saw nothing of what they were; a certain innocence until you made him angry, now the only thing I saw was pure rage and an intent to kill. "Before we do this," he growled softly, "Tell me…how did you nullify my sand defenses?"

"While I was attacking you with my insects, I sent some of them into your sand. My insects eat chakra, so I just had them suck all the chakra out of that sand, so when I used my _Hailstorm_ jutsu, your sand would be useless to defend you," Shino explained, which confirmed my theory. Unfortunately, it hadn't won him the match, which meant Gaara now had the advantage. Shino dropped to his knees from lack of chakra, and waited for Gaara to come to him. Gaara charged, his claw dragging behind him, ready to attack, and he covered the fifty-foot distance between them in a matter of seconds. His claw crashed into Shino's torso, and a giant dust cloud blasted rubble all over the arena, hiding what was happening. Shino came rolling out of the dust, his gray jacket completely ripped off, revealing a dark-gray undershirt.

The undershirt also had huge rips in it, revealing big portions of Shino's bare torso. Blood was trickling out if his mouth, along with several cuts around his body. The dust cleared completely to reveal Gaara back in his normal form, panting from using his Shukaku power. I waited for Shino to get up, shaking in anticipation at what was going to happen if he didn't. After about a minute, Genma said, "Alright, the winner…is Gaara!" Medical ninja rushed forward, put Shino on a stretcher, and hauled him off, leaving Gaara to limp up the stairs and rejoin the contestant's stand while Koruki and I jumped down and took our positions at the center of the arena.


	29. Chapter 29: Hero Refined

Hey, guess what I started doing on the chapters? I started EDITING them before I upload them! :D So now hopefully the grammar and sentence structure won't be _as _terrible as what you've been getting. Anyway, I now present to you Matt vs. Koruki. Enjoy.

HERO REFINED

"The winner is Gaara!"

Koruki and I stood there in the center of the arena, glaring at each other in nervous anticipation. As opposed to the red t-shirt and black gym shorts I wore previously, I was now wearing a red t-shirt that had a dark-gray angel, white designs outside of it, and a shaded impression of a skyscraper made to appear in the background, along with blue-jeans. "Begin!" Genma yelled as he backed out of the way. I pulled out a kunai and charged, and when I got halfway to her, I jumped at her to give me more power. She ducked, allowing me to fly past her, and I landed on the ground and skidded to a stop ten feet behind her. I came back in with the kunai, and she pulled out a kunai as well to block me, which she did flawlessly five times over.

Finally, I ducked down and swept my foot under her, but she jumped up and back-flipped away from me to give herself another chance at attacking me. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew a huge fireball out of my mouth at her, which she was just barely able to leap out of the way of and let it pass by before she landed again. The fireball crashed into the wall of the arena and brought rubble onto the ground from a huge, but shallow crater in the wall. Koruki charged with her kunai, and I managed to block her, but she jumped over me and cut me across the back before I could react. I walked forward with my hand wrapped around my shoulder to my back, growling in pain. I didn't even know what she did next, but her foot landed in my back and sent me to the ground, blood from the gash in my back beginning to pool. Koruki stepped on my back and aimed her kunai down at me, ready to finish it.

I rapidly flipped over, but she managed to jump off before I could hit her, and backed away so I couldn't come in with a surprise attack. I finally got back to my feet and pulled out four shuriken, then threw them at Koruki, who blocked them all with her knife. I pulled out another knife and charged, even though I knew it was pretty much useless. She blocked all of my slashes, so I jumped back before she could get in another hit. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" Twenty tiny fireballs shot from my mouth at Koruki, who waited for them to come to her, and she then jumped out of the way so they smashed into the ground. While she was still in the air, she threw four shuriken down at me that I rolled out of the way of, and I then threw a kunai up at her. She saw the paper-bomb just in time to swerve out of the way and let it fly past, then detonate harmlessly in the air.

She dropped, then threw four more shuriken at me, which I tried to jump out of the way of, but she was smart this time, and she threw them all around me instead of directly at me, so if I tried to dodge, I would be hit. One landed in my arm while a second cut my ankle, and the one in my arm knocked me out of the air and sent me rolling across the ground. The shuriken was knocked out of my shoulder, and I managed to catch it while I was still rolling, except it cut my hand in the process. I got back to my feet and threw the shuriken at Koruki, which she blocked effortlessly with her kunai. She waited for me to make the next move, which I was more than happy to do. I ran in completely unarmed, which made Koruki lower her guard in surprise. I raised my fist and aimed it at her face, and she raised her kunai to block.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "What the heck does he think he's doing?" I asked myself quietly, watching my teammate charge to what was probably going to be the end of this match. His fist was within six inches of Koruki's knife when he disappeared completely. "N-No way!" I said, completely dumbfounded at how fast he had become in the last month. When he had disappeared, he had disappeared in a burst of pure speed, making him invisible to the naked eye. He reappeared behind Koruki a second later with the same fist raised, aiming it at the back of her head.

[Matt's point-of-view] I swung my fist forward, ready to take her head off, when chakra burst forth and blocked my attack. It didn't even feel like a solid object; it just felt like some invisible, feeless force had blocked my hand. I jumped back with the same speed and landed towards the wall of the arena. This had to be that chakra wall Kakashi told me about. My hand shivered in pain as I stood there; the chakra had burnt my flesh, which felt like my hand was on fire. Well, at least I had a way to get around those reflexes, now to find a way past that wall of hers. I charged her at normal speed, and when I was five feet from her, I jumped up into the air at full-speed. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired another fireball down at her, which she didn't even attempt to dodge. The fire cleared, and she was standing there, her chakra shield completely intact. I dropped down on top of her with a kunai in my hand, ready to put it in the shield.

I let out chakra through my feet against the shield to keep from scorching them as I drove the kunai into the shield, which broke off the blade. I let out my chakra in a huge burst, which propelled me off the shield and sent me flying fifty feet away. I was still in the air when the paper-bomb on the handle of the knife detonated, engulfing the shield in the explosion. I skidded across the ground, using my good hand to stop me, and I then charged back in at full-speed with the same fist raised. I crashed into the smoke, my speed blowing it away on contact…or was that the shockwave from the impact with the chakra-shield? Either way, the ground cracked under the pressure, and my hand was firmly connected with the chakra shield. I had hit it so hard, blood dripped down my fist onto the ground from my knuckles, which were now badly cracked open.

I looked behind the shield at Koruki, who was panting heavily from all of the chakra she had been using to keep that shield going. And then I realized that that was my way in; if I could get her to resort to that shield enough so that she ran out of chakra, I could get her…I just had to last that long against contact with it. I brought my fist back before the chakra damaged it anymore, and I realized the chakra was acting as a plug. The blood from my knuckles dropped much more freely now, staining the ground with red. I couldn't let the pain bother me, otherwise I wouldn't be able to use hand signs, so I breathed through it as I weaved a few. "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" Instead of firing off the customary twenty tiny fireballs, I shot three medium-sized fireballs, like when I was first learning the jutsu.

The three medium-sized fireballs that came out of my mouth shot at Koruki, who jumped up in the air to avoid them. The fireballs followed her through the air, so she threw a fire-kunai down at them, the shockwave from the explosion extinguishing the flames. She landed on the ground and skidded to a halt about five feet from the wall, and she then charged with a kunai. I pulled out a kunai to defend myself with, but I was pretty sure it wasn't going to help me very much. I ducked one slash, and while still lowered, I blocked her second slash, and then jumped back out of the way of the third. While still in the air, I made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

I fired the huge fireball down at her, but she jumped out of the way and allowed it to smash into the ground. I came around behind her and tried to hit her in the back of the head, but she turned around and blocked my fist, then landed her knee in my stomach, knocking me senseless. She landed on the ground perfectly on both feet while I crash-landed. Koruki waited for me to get back to my feet, which took me a while to do. When I finally did so, she pulled out a kunai and charged. I didn't even have time to register that I needed to defend myself before she was on top of me, slashing away at me. After a slash to the arm, the chest, and the ribs, I came around behind her and aimed my foot at her back, and her reflexes weren't quick enough to block it. Unfortunately, that was where the chakra-shield came in.

It erupted just before my foot would have hit her and blocked me, making me jump back before she could counterattack. The chakra-shield disappeared and Koruki pulled out a few shuriken, but waited to throw them. I pulled out a few shuriken of my own and threw them at her, which was when she threw hers. The shuriken collided in midair, knocking into each other and all falling to the ground. "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I blew three more medium fireballs at her, one of which she jumped, but the other two followed her up through the air, making things difficult for her. She dived out of the way, making one lose track of her and fly into the sky, but the final one was still on target. She knew there was no point dodging it, so her chakra-shield kicked in and blocked it for her.

When the chakra-shield cleared, I landed a kunai at her feet, and the paper-bomb detonated, blowing another crater into the ground. The explosion cleared, and her chakra shield was outlining her body, making it small enough to protect her completely. I had some hope, however vain it might be, that maybe such a small shield also meant that she was running out of chakra to use it. Regardless, she pulled out a few more shuriken and threw them at me, but I ran out of the way of them and allowed them to fly into the wall. I pulled out a kunai and charged, thinking maybe I could get through her shield this time, even if I had to smash through it. She pulled out a kunai to defend herself with, but I was ready for those reflexes this time. I came within five feet of her and super-sped behind her, getting around her reflexes in the blink of an eye.

I aimed my kunai at her back, but she turned around and blocked me with a kunai of her own, and I ducked down, then shot my foot up, aiming it at her chin. Her shield kicked in on schedule, but not enough to block my kick. My foot burst right through the shield, landing in her chin and sending her flying into the air. I jumped up and kept in the air directly below her, my body parallel to her and her body parallel with the ground. I brought my foot up and down on her chest, her shield coming in to intercept it. I let her fall past me, then landed my fist in the shield, following up with my opposite fist, her shield only barely holding on. I spun around in the air and landed my heel in the shield, the impact creating a shockwave between us. The moment my heel connected with the shield, "_LION'S BARRAGE!_"

[Naruto's point-of-view] I had seen not one, but two blasts from the past in this fight. Sasuke Uchiha, my old teammate, had been every bit as fast as Matt during these exams, and had even invented the _Lion's Barrage_.

[Matt's point-of-view] Koruki fell to the ground and smashed into it, creating a small dust cloud to conceal her. I fell and landed on both feet next to the dust-cloud, then jumped back out of the way before she could sneak one in on me. The dust cleared and she was on her feet, blood trailing from her mouth the whole time. "Man, there is just no getting through that shield," I said to myself as I waited for her next attack. She threw a kunai at me, and I couldn't see the handle, but I wasn't about to take chances. I jumped out of the way, but it was just a regular kunai, to throw me off for her next attack. Four shuriken flew up at me, and I sped out of the way and came up behind her with a kunai in my hand. I put it into her shield, but it bounced off, and I leaped out of the way as it hit the ground. The paper-bomb on the handle detonated, blowing into the shield and engulfing it in smoke and fire.

The smoke cleared, and the shield was intact, alive and well. The shield cleared and Koruki threw two more shuriken at me, and I jumped out of the way, landing on the wall of the arena. I skidded up it, stopping about ten feet from the top. I made three hand signs and held out my hand, my other hand wrapped around the wrist.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "I recognize those hand signs," I said to myself. "Nice one, Kakashi."

[Matt's point-of-view] Lightning engulfed my hand, sending bolts off three feet around me, hitting the arena and sending tiny pieces of rubble to the ground.


	30. Chapter 30: Dawn of Lightning

Referring to Matt's Season Two outfit; it's based on one of my own (as are all of his outfits) and its really, really hard to describe. If you're interested enough, I put a photo of it up on the wiki (narutochronicle(dot)wikia(dot)com).

DAWN OF LIGHTNING

[Naruto's point-of-view] "Nice one, Kakashi," I said to myself, looking at Matt and his new jutsu.

[Matt's point-of-view] Lightning surrounded my hand like an aura, throwing bolts three feet around me, and sending tiny pieces of rubble to the ground. "_Chidori! One Thousand Birds!_" I called, preparing to charge with my new jutsu. Koruki's mouth was ajar as she stared up at me and my _Chidori_.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I watched Matt put the _Chidori_ against the wall, and as he brought it behind him, I was vividly reminded of Sasuke, and how he had done the exact same thing in the exact same way. He then charged down the wall, bent low to the wall to keep his _Chidori_ in the same position.

[Matt's point-of-view] I hit the ground, and the _Chidori_ blasted dust fifteen feet around me, and I charged out of the dust with my jutsu still going. I charged towards Koruki, who waited until I was five feet from her, and leaped. I saw it coming and leaped up after her, super-speeding around behind her with my _Chidori_ aimed at her back. Her shield kicked in, and my _Chidori_ collided with it, sending chakra flying in all directions. The sheer mass of the chakra kept us in the air, and we kept in our positions like we were on solid ground. My _Chidori_ had busted right through her shield like it was made of cardboard. "Dammit," I said to myself quietly. I had made it within an inch of her back, but then the chakra-shield caught on my arm and kept me from going any further.

[Naruto's point-of-view] It took me a few minutes, but I finally realized why Kakashi had taught Matt in a mirror image of Sasuke; he was ashamed at his failure with Sasuke, and now he wanted to make up for it with Matt.

[Matt's point-of-view] The shield disappeared, along with the chakra keeping us in the air, and we fell to the ground, both of us landing on our feet. We both leaped back away from each other, Koruki looking more nervous than before. I flashed back to the day when Kakashi was teaching me the _Chidori_.

"_With the _Chidori_, you have awesome power, but with that power comes a price. The _Chidori_ uses up so much chakra, that using four bursts in one day will put me on the ground. Right now, even with your excess amount of chakra, it would only be safe for you to use three bursts in a day," Kakashi explained to me. _

"_Okay, and what would happen if I tried to use it more than three times?" I asked, looking at my hand, which was burnt from using the _Chidori_. _

"_If you try to force a jutsu, not only will you drain your chakra to absolute zero, but since chakra is your energy, worst-case scenario, you'll die." _

Taking this advice to mind, I waited for another chance to use the _Chidori_ where I would have a good chance of hitting her. Then again, there was also the prospect of having to use it in the other rounds. Having not succeeded with that burst put me in a bad situation with the fights to come. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew a fireball at her, and she jumped out of the way, making it smash into the wall of the arena. I came up after her with a kunai, but she blocked my slash and pushed me away so I couldn't follow through. I landed on the ground and used my knife to skid to a halt, and then waited for her attack, although that seemed to be what she was doing, as she waited fifteen feet away and did nothing.

I was running low on weapons, which wasn't going to help me any in the coming rounds either. I now had three kunai and six shuriken left, which I had to conserve for the remainder of this match and the two to come, assuming I lasted that long. I was also running out of chakra, which also meant bad things in the future. I coupled this with the fact that nothing short of my second of three _Chidoris_ would break that shield. "Hey," I called to her, something suddenly coming to mind. "What is that shield? What's it called?" She seemed taken aback by the question, but answered it all the same.

"It's a special jutsu, a kekkei-genkai in the Matanu clan. It's called the _Chakra Barrier Jutsu_, and it's used to coincide with the _Reflexive Enhancement Jutsu._ Whenever your reflexes fail, the _Chakra Barrier_ automatically kicks in as a back-up defense, and only a chakra source stronger than the shield can break it, kind of like your _Chidori_." She said the name of my jutsu bitterly, like she was mad that I knew a way to get through that shield. I didn't want to tell her that I could only use the _Chidori_ two more times, and after that, her shield would be impenetrable. I charged her at light-speed before she could react and connected with her chakra shield, then immediately jumped back to keep her from attacking me. Her shield dispersed, and she threw a kunai at me, which I blocked with my own knife. I caught it out of the air and threw it back at her, but she sidestepped it and let it fly into the wall.

She charged me with her bare fist, which I thought was kind of dimwitted for her, then I realized that she must be running out of weapons. I put my kunai away and raised my arms to defend myself, and just before she got to me, her chakra shield erupted into existence, knocking me back and into the wall of the arena. I dropped to the ground, and as I got back to my feet, I said, "Oh, come on, that ain't fair!" I made a mental note not to let her charge me like that again, and that was when I noticed the fire-kunai on the wall next to me. The explosion blasted a crater in the wall and the ground and sent me flying across the side of the arena, rolling to a stop twenty feet away from the smoke. The blast blew open cuts all around my body, not to mention burning my flesh in several places, but I somehow still had the strength to get to a kneeling position.

My vision was blurry, and I was about to pass out, but I still managed to pull out a kunai and get to my feet, waiting for her next attack. She pulled out a kunai of her own and charged, making me back into the wall. I managed to block her first slash, but then she got behind my guard and stabbed me in the gut, making me drop to my knees in pain. I figured she would probably use this opportunity to finish me, but she waited for me to get back to my feet before attacking. I pulled the kunai out of my gut and shot up, but her knee landed in my stomach, making me stop dead. I spat blood and fell past her, landing face-first in the dirt.

_What's wrong with me?_ I asked myself, staring with one eye, my other one in the ground. _I should be able to beat at least her. All she has is enhanced reflexes and a little shield, that should be no problem for me to get past!_ Her foot landed next to my face, and she picked me up by the scruff of the neck. When I was off the ground, she wrapped her arm around my throat and landed her fist in my face, knocking more blood out of my mouth. The blood landed on the wall and ground while my head cracked open next to it, sending another trail of blood to the ground as I slid down. I was about ready to fall unconscious, sure there was no way that I could possibly win this, but then I looked into her eyes. There was pity in them, and I had a sudden flashback of Hinata in the preliminaries, with almost the exact same look in her eyes after she hit me with her jutsu.

That was when I strengthened my resolve; I was going to win this, and it wasn't going to be by Koruki forfeiting. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew the fireball at her while she was still right next to me, and she had zero time to react. The fire cleared, and her shield was active, but I wasn't on the ground. I had snuck up behind her with a kunai aimed at her back. I managed to get the blade through the shield, but my hand got caught, and I was forced to drop the kunai while I wrenched my arm out of the shield, leaving it scorched where it was in contact with the chakra. The shield dispersed and I jumped back before she could attack me. I landed towards the center of the arena, fifty feet away from her, and she waited for me to come back in. I decided to stick with long-range attacks until I could get in a good chance with _Chidori_, and I made six hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired twenty tiny fireballs out of my mouth that homed in on Koruki, who prepared to jump. She managed to jump at the exact moment so that none of the fireballs, not even the ones that flew up after her, were able to hit her, and they just flew off into the heavens. She threw three kunai down at me, and I barrel-rolled out of the way, grabbed the one nearest to me, and threw it back up at her. She dived out of the way and charged me with her bare fists, probably going to try to cheat with that shield again. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" She jumped the fireball and dived down at me, trying to dive-bomb me with the shield. I jumped back out of the way, and she landed where I had been, then leaped up after me with a kunai.

I saw what she was going to do before she even fully did it, and knew exactly what to do. I grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the kunai, landed my knee in her stomach, which made her spit out blood, then back-handed her with my other fist, knocking her to the ground. I landed ten feet away from her, close enough to follow through when she got up, but far enough away so that she couldn't sneak a blow in on me. She rolled away from me and got to her feet, then jumped back, landing close to the wall, then jumping up again and landing on the wall. I was really hoping she wasn't about to activate a _Chidori_, because that looked a lot like what I had done when I had used it. Fortunately, she was just gaining some distance between us so she would have plenty of time to dodge my next attack.

I sped up and around behind her with my fist raised, but she saw me just in time and jumped off the wall. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" She was still in the air, so she couldn't dodge my fireball, but her shield kicked in and blocked it for her. Right when her shield dispersed, I leaped off the wall straight at her and rammed right into her, wrapping my hands around her waist and driving her into the ground. Her shield kicked in again as we hit, knocking me into the air, and I slammed into the ground thirty feet away. I got back to my feet and waited for her next attack, which involved her charging me again, and involved me jumping onto the wall to avoid her. She stopped at the base of the wall and looked up at me, waiting to see what I would do.

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired twenty tiny fireballs down on her, but she jumped back out of the way of them, and stood where she landed, staring back up at me some more. I wondered why she had a sudden change from offense to defense, but then I realized her chakra must be getting low from using that shield so much. I just had to last a little longer, and I would break right through that shield. I super-sped around behind her with my fist raised, and she turned around and raised her arms to block me, and when I connected, I bashed her into the wall, cracking her head open a little when she hit. She immediately got back to her feet and leaped over me, landed, and ran away from me, keeping her head turned towards me so I wouldn't sneak one in on her.

I wrenched a shuriken out of the wall behind me and threw it at her, but she ducked it, and it flew all the way to the opposite wall. I super-sped around behind her and swept my fist at her throat, but she jumped back to avoid me. She threw a kunai at me, and I didn't even realize what she had done before the paper-bomb detonated. The explosion caught me full in the front, blasting me back into the wall, and I slid down into a sitting position. Fresh cuts and burns had formed all over my body from the blast, which meant I was barely conscious. Koruki landed five feet in front of me and walked over to me, examining me to see if I was actually down. "_Chidori!_" In less than the blink of an eye, I came around behind her with a fresh _Chidori_ aimed at her back.

She was in too much shock to dodge, which left her shield to try and block it for her. I smashed right through the shield so hard it burst apart completely, leaving Koruki completely defenseless. The _Chidori_ landed in her shoulder, spattering blood all over the ground and wall, and probably coming close to severing her arm off completely. The pain instantly knocked her unconscious, and she fell to the ground with blood pooling under her. I waited for her to get back up, and after about a minute of her not doing so, Genma came down and said, "The winner is Matt Withau!"


	31. Chapter 31: The Tides Crash

THE TIDES CRASH

Rock Lee and Sarura Kuharu stood in the center of the arena, waiting for Genma to begin the match. "Begin!" Sarura jumped back from Lee, who immediately ran forward with his fist ready.

"_Water Style: Water Piercing Bullet!_" Sarura shot a thin tube of water out of his mouth at Lee, who jumped to avoid it.

"_Leaf Hurricane!_" Lee spun through the air with his leg raised, and Sarura backed out of the way to avoid it, Lee landing right in front of him. Sarura barely managed to catch Lee's fist, who then came in to elbow him in the stomach, but Sarura caught that too. Lee wrenched his elbow out of Sarura's grip and grabbed his hand, then jumped over him, trying to knock Sarura to the ground. Sarura wrenched his own hand out of Lee's, and when Lee landed, Sarura spun around, aiming a back-fist at Lee's jugular. Lee turned around and blocked it with his arms, then got low to the ground and swept Sarura's legs out from under him. Sarura fell flat on his back, and Lee immediately pinned him to the ground, making sure he couldn't get back up.

"I don't know if I should count to ten or penalize for sexual harassment," I heard Genma mutter to himself while rubbing his head. Finally, Sarura got a hand free and landed it in Lee's side, knocking him off while Sarura immediately got to his feet.

"_Water Style: Water Piercing Bullet!_" Sarura shot another tube of water from his mouth at Lee, who just barely dodged it in time. The _Bullet_ smashed into the ground then came back up under Lee while he was still in the air. Lee pulled out a kunai to defend himself, and swerved out of the way, letting the _Bullet_ shoot up past him. Lee then cut ten feet from the tip, making the entire thing fall and splash to the ground. "_Water Style: Mist Needles!_" Some of the water that has splashed from the edges of the cut shot at Lee in the form of needles, knocking him out of the air and sending him dropping to the ground. "_Water Style: Water Whip!_"

Another thin tube of water formed around Sarura's hand, then stretched all the way up to Lee, wrapping around his leg. Sarura brought the whip down, smashing Lee into the ground and sending chunks of rubble everywhere. Lee immediately jumped out of the crater to avoid a follow-through by Sarura and landed near the base of the arena wall, then immediately charged back in. Sarura swung the _Water Whip_ again, but Lee leaped into the air to avoid it, then dived down at Sarura with his fist raised. Sarura dived out of the way, then swung his whip at Lee's back, tearing a hole in his shirt and knocking him to the ground. Lee rolled out of the way of another swing from Sarura, then jumped to his feet and charged again with his fist raised.

Sarura just barely managed to sidestep Lee, who stopped dead in his tracks, jumped up, and landed his foot in Sarura's cheek. Sarura backed up with blood trickling from his mouth, then swung his whip at Lee, who leaped out of the way. "_Dynamic Entry!_" Lee stretched his foot out at Sarura and dropped right on top of him, forcing him to back out of the way to avoid getting smashed. The _Water Whip_ landed in Lee's chest, knocking him onto his back, allowing Sarura to run over and step on his chest, spinning the _Whip_ around. Lee swung his foot up and kicked Sarura in the back, knocking him off and disorienting him. This allowed Lee to get to his feet and perform a _Leaf Hurricane_, landing his foot in Sarura's back and sending him rolling away.

Lee charged again, and Sarura got back to his feet and swung his whip at Lee's feet, but Lee jumped it and shot straight at Sarura, landing his foot in his cheek. Sarura backed into the arena and tried to punch Lee, who had charged again, but Lee threw Sarura's fist aside and landed his own in his stomach, making him spit up and drop to his knees. When he did, his _Water Whip_ reverted to shapeless water and splashed to the ground. Lee waited for him to get back up, and I instantly realized that no matter what Sarura did, Lee was just going to counter it. Sarura pulled out a kunai and jumped up at Lee, who grabbed Sarura's wrist. "_Leaf Whirlwind!_"

Lee swept Sarura's feet out from under him, making him spin through the air, and when he crashed to the ground, he rolled into the wall of the arena. Sarura almost immediately got back to his feet and leaped over Lee to give himself time to come up with a strategy. This was easier said than done, since the moment Sarura's feet touched the ground, Lee was already after him. "_Water Style: Water Piercing Bullet!_" A tube of water shot from Sarura's mouth straight at Lee, who jumped out of the way, and the _Piercing Bullet_ followed him. Lee dropped right on top of Sarura, but Sarura was prepared. While keeping the first _Bullet _coming from above, he shot another one from his mouth to come at Lee from below. I figured Lee was done for, but Lee proved me wrong. He swerved out of the way of the one coming from below, and was too close to Sarura for the other one to hit him in time.

Sarura was forced to let go of the jutsu and jump back, and Lee landed right where he had been standing. Sarura fired another _Water Piercing Bullet_ at Lee, who charged it head-on, and then jumped over it just as it was about to hit him. "_Leaf Hurricane!_" Lee spun through the air with his leg outstretched, and landed it in the side of Sarura's head, knocking him off balance and making him crash into the dirt.

"_Water Clone Jutsu!_" Sarura rose back to his feet, and all of the water across the arena formed clones of him, equaling out to about a dozen clones, plus the real Sarura. While the real Sarura jumped out of the way, the clones pulled out kunai knives and charged. Lee tripped one up and threw him into another, both collapsing back into water, and he then jumped back up, uppercutting one, then kicked another behind him. He then took the first and threw him into the second, leaving plenty of time to intercept the rest. Several punches and kicks later, all of the clones had been destroyed, and only the real Sarura was left. "_Water Style: Water Piercing Bullet!_"

Lee jumped out of the way, but the _Bullet_ followed him through the air, fully capable of running him through. Lee landed on the wall of the arena and then dropped off, just in time so that the _Bullet_ wouldn't have time to come after him, and it smashed right into the spot where he had landed. The _Bullet_ kept digging through the wall, intent on surprising Lee, but Lee had seen this coming a mile away. The instant Lee landed on the ground, he jumped back up again, and the _Bullet_ burst out and flew up after him. Lee swerved out of the way and let it fly up past him, and dived down towards Sarura with his fist stretched. "_Water Style: Water Wall!_" Sarura spat out a torrent of water that surrounded him and shot fifty feet into the air, forming a solid wall of water.

Lee hit it and bounced right off, slamming into the ground, and Sarura followed through with the _Water Piercing Bullet_ from before coming down and smashing into Lee, sending rubble in all directions. After several seconds, a hand came up and grabbed the edge of the crater that Lee was in, and Lee pulled himself out, his clothes torn in several places, and the bandages on his arms hanging loosely. Now would have been a good time to take off those weights Kakashi had told me about, except I found it hard to believe that Sarura was going to give him a chance. "_Water Style: Water Dragon Missile!_" Three dragon-shaped streams of water shot out of the _Water Wall_ at Lee, who jumped back to avoid them. All three _Water Dragon Missiles_ followed him through the air, and not a one of them were fooled when Lee landed on the wall and dropped off again.

He made one last-ditch effort to avoid them and rolled forward, but the _Water Dragon Missiles_ converged and smashed him with about six tons of water. I figured he was dead the moment the water hit him, but once again, I was proven wrong. Lee charged out before all of the water had even hit him, except he was still one-hundred-percent drenched. "_Water Style: Water Whip!_" Sarura formed another whip made of water and swung at Lee, who barrel-rolled out of the way, and then charged again. Sarura swung the whip again, but Lee was already right on top of him. Lee's fist landed in Sarura's stomach, making him spit out blood and lose control of the _Water Whip_, which splashed to the ground as shapeless water.

Lee then jumped up and landed his foot in Sarura's cheek, making him fly back and roll into the wall of the arena. He got back to his feet just in time to duck Lee's fist, which buried itself in the wall. Sarura tried to sweep Lee's legs out from under him, but Lee jumped it and landed his own foot in Sarura's stomach, knocking him back into the wall. Before Lee could do anything else, Sarura rolled back to his feet and backed away, making hand signs at the same time. "_Water Style: Mist Needles!_" All of the water around the arena (which was a lot) flew up at Lee in the form of tiny needles, and Lee crossed his arms to defend himself. The needle wave smashed into him, pushing him back into the wall, but he still held his ground. When the wave of needles finally ended, Lee dropped to his knees, his bandages almost completely ripped off to reveal bruised and beaten up arms. I knew this was because of all the training he did daily, which, according to Kakashi, was more than just about anyone else could handle.

Lee looked over at Sarura, who was back on his feet and armed with a _Water Whip_, and pulled out a kunai. Lee charged, and Sarura swung, making Lee jump up to avoid the _Whip_. He flew over Sarura, landed five feet behind him, and charged back in again. Sarura turned around and swung the whip, landing it right in Lee's hand, cutting it open and making him drop the kunai, but Lee still kept charging. Sarura jumped out of the way and Lee jumped after him, ready to smash into him, but Sarura swung his whip at Lee and cut him across the chest, knocking him out of the air and sending him crashing into the ground. There was now a bloody 'x' across Lee's chest where the whip had hit, and blood was dripping onto the ground.

Instead of charging back in again, Lee leaped back and landed on the wall of the arena, and reached down to his ankles. He held his weights out, while Sarura made some hand signs. "_Hidden Waterfall Style: Water Slicing Blade!_" Some of the water around the arena came up and formed a sword in Sarura's hand. Right at the same moment, Lee's weights hit the ground, blasting dust into the air, and he crossed his arms, preparing for his own jutsu.

"_The First Gate, Gate of Opening: Open!_" His veins pulsed, and his muscles enlarged, but he waited to open any more gates. Sarura pointed his sword up at Lee, who had more than enough speed and power to counter it, but Sarura still held firm.


	32. Chapter 32: Dominance

DOMINANCE

"_Hidden Waterfall Style: Water Slicing Blade!_"

"_The First Gate, Gate of Opening: Open!_"

A sword made entirely of water formed in Sarura's hands, and Lee's muscles enlarged and veins pulsed, giving him plenty of speed and power to bust right through Sarura's defenses. Lee charged at light-speed, tearing up the wall and ground along the way. Sarura just barely managed to jump out of the way before Lee crashed past him, then tore up the opposite wall and leaped off, flying right at him. Sarura spun around and swung his whip, catching Lee across the face with it. Blood spattered to the ground from the gash across Lee's face, while Lee himself dropped headfirst into the ground. Sarura landed on his feet and waited for Lee to charge him again, but Lee's attack power was spent; the _First Gate_ had closed and Lee could barely move. Realizing this fact, Sarura walked forward, spinning his sword at his side, ready to finish Lee.

He put his sword at Lee's throat, who kicked Sarura's feet out from under him. Sarura dropped to the ground, and Lee slammed him in the stomach with the same foot, pinning him and making him lose both his weapons. Sarura pushed Lee's leg off of him, and the both of them got back to their feet. Lee aimed his fist at Sarura's stomach, but Sarura caught it and pushed him back, then landed his own fist in Lee's stomach, making him spit out blood and drop to the ground. Before Sarura could do anything else, Lee jumped back to his feet and landed his head in Sarura's chin, knocking him off his feet and on his butt with blood trickling out of his mouth. He spat a tooth out onto the ground and looked up at Lee with loathing, who waited for Sarura to make the next move.

Sarura got back to his feet and jumped back, landing near the base of the wall. "_Water Style: Water Whip! Hidden Waterfall Style: Water Slicing Blade!_" Both the whip and the sword formed in either hand, and Lee prepared to charge or dodge, whichever priority came first. Sarura charged, and when he was in range, swung his whip at Lee, who rolled out of the way. Sarura retracted the whip and charged in with the sword, aiming it at Lee's gut. Lee sidestepped it, but Sarura still managed to graze his side. Sarura then swung the blade at Lee's head, but Lee ducked it, spun around, and landed his foot in Sarura's chin. Sarura floated into the air, and Lee jumped up and landed his foot in his stomach, sending him rolling twenty feet away.

Sarura immediately got back to his feet and wielded his sword, but didn't have time to reform his whip, since Lee was already coming after him. Sarura swung, but Lee ducked it, and kicked Sarura into the air. Lee got on his hands and jumped up after him, landing both feet in Sarura's stomach. He then put him through a series of kicks, one right after the other, that I couldn't see how Sarura would be conscious when all said and done. Finally, Lee dragged Sarura below him and landed one final kick to the back of the head, sending Sarura flying into the ground. Lee dropped right on top of him, sending dust twenty feet around them, then jumped back out and landed fifty feet away. I looked more closely and saw that Lee looked like he was about to pass out.

I saw pulsated veins disappear, and realized that he had previously opened the First Gate again, which left him physically exhausted now. The dust cleared to reveal a crater where Sarura should be, which made me strongly question rather or not he was still alive. Finally, he pulled himself out of the crater, and I my jaw dropped at the state of damage he was in. His clothes were torn all over, gashes ran up and down his arms and legs, his head was cracked open above his eye, and it looked like his arm was broken. Still, he reformed the sword in his good arm and waited for Lee to attack. "You do realize," said Lee, "that if we continue this fight in the shape you are in, you will most likely die?"

"Yeah, well, look at you. You may not look it, but I can tell that you're every bit as beaten up as I am. I bet there are torn muscles all over, aren't there?" Lee didn't say anything, but I could tell he had the same suspicion. Regardless, Sarura walked forward, brandishing his sword, ready to end the fight. Lee brought his hand up and halfway stretched out in front of him with all five fingers pointing up, while the other was behind his back, enclosed in a fist. I figured this was his fighting stance, preparing himself against Sarura. Both of them were beaten past their limits. It was only a matter of time now before one of them dropped. About five feet from Lee, Sarura charged and aimed his sword at Lee's gut. Lee jumped in an arc over him, which amazed me, considering how exhausted he was, and then landed his foot in Sarura's back.

Sarura hit the dirt, and took a while to get back up. When he did, he swung his sword at Lee, but Lee backed up just enough so that the blade only ripped open his shirt across his stomach. When the sword had passed, Lee charged in and landed his fist in Sarura's face. Sarura stumbled backwards, blood dripping from his nose, and Lee jumped up and landed both feet in his stomach, using him as a springboard and launching himself off, sending Sarura into the dirt. Lee landed ten feet away and waited for Sarura to get up and make the next move, most likely out of exhaustion. After about a minute, he did, and said, "_Water Style: Great Flood Jutsu!_" All of the water around the arena came around behind him and formed a huge tidal wave fifty feet in the air, that could easily smash Lee. Sarura pointed his arm at Lee and the tidal wave fell, several thousand tons of water coming down right on top of Lee.

The moment the water came, Lee turned around and started running, but wasn't fast enough to outrun the tidal wave. The water caught him in the legs and knocked him backward, then dragged him forward and slammed him headlong into the wall. Sarura pulled his arm back and the water all flowed back around behind him, on standby while Sarura made some more hand signs. "_Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!_" The water formed a huge dragon-shaped stream that flew at Lee, every bit as powerful as before, and even more so, now that Lee looked like he was unconscious. "Come on, Lee, get up!" Naruto yelled beside me, his knuckles white on the railing. Lee's eyes opened just before the _Water Dragon_ smashed into him, punching a crater in the wall of the arena.

"No! There's no way he could have lasted through that! Dammit! This fight's over!" Naruto said bitterly.

"Not yet," I said, looking above the arena. Lee had used his inhuman speed to get out of the way just in time, the effort of which probably coming close to killing him. I could tell he was ready to finish this by the determination in his eye, and the fact that if this fight went on any longer, he would be in serious trouble. "_First Gate, Gate of Opening: Open!_" His veins pulsed and his muscles enlarged, and a trickle of blood ran down his chin from his mouth. "_Second Gate, Gate of Rest: Open!_" His muscles enlarged further, more veins pulsed, and more blood spilled out of his mouth. "_Third Gate, Gate of Life: OPEN!_" This time, a horrible tearing sound echoed throughout the arena as Lee's muscles ripped themselves apart with the activation of the Third Gate. Sarura knew just as well as anyone in the arena that he had lost this fight from the moment Lee dodged that _Water Dragon_, but it didn't seem he was going to go down without a fight.

"_Water Style: Water Dragon Missile!_" Three small dragon-shaped streams of water shot up from the arena at Lee, who charged at Sarura so fast, the shock from it blew the _Water Dragon Missiles_ away. Lee smashed into the ground on top of Sarura, blasting dust in every direction, then drove him into the wall of the arena, blasting more dust. He then followed through by sending Sarura a hundred feet into the air, blood spattering the ground from his mouth. All of this happened over the course of about half a second. Lee jumped up after him, landed his fist in Sarura's stomach, and sent him flying to the ground, more blood pouring out of his mouth.

However, Lee was not done yet. Sometime while he had been pounding Sarura, he wrapped the remnants of his bandages around Sarura's waist, and now reeled him back in, his left arm and leg raised. "_HIDDEN LOTUS!_" His arm and leg both landed in Sarura's torso at the speed of a sniper bullet (which is pretty frickin fast, for those of you who don't know), and I knew there was no way Sarura could even survive that blow. Lee's bandages tore and Sarura smashed into the ground, sending dust to the edges of the arena. Lee screamed in pain as the gates closed and he dropped into the dust, concealing the outcome of the entire match. The dust finally cleared to reveal a huge crater in the center of the arena that concealed Sarura, and then Lee laying twenty feet away, unconscious.

Two squads of medical ninja rushed into the arena, a squad taking either contestant, and having to jump down into the crater to get Sarura out of it. The other squad was measuring Lee's pulse and heart-rate, and I could tell just by the looks on their faces that he was in bad shape. I looked back over at Sarura and saw my suspicions confirmed in the faces of the squad seeing to him; Sarura was dead. They relayed this news to Genma, who waited to announce it to the audience. I looked back over at Lee and saw three ninja carrying him away on a stretcher, while the fourth was whispering in Genma's ear. I couldn't tell rather he was relaying a two-sided death-match, but regardless, I knew it wasn't good.

Finally, Genma said, "Right, I understand," and turned to face the audience. "Due to the death of the opposing candidate, Sarura Kuharu, Rock Lee is the winner!"

[Naruto's point-of-view] I hoped with all my heart that Lee would be okay, but right now, I had other matters to deal with. I looked at Neji and saw that he was every bit as anxious and excited as I was; it was finally time for our rematch.


	33. Chapter 33: Rematch

REMATCH

Neji and I stood in the center of the arena, waiting for Genma to start the match, both of us just as pumped as the other. "Before I begin this match, there's something I need to address to the two of you," Genma said. I wondered what this could be about, and when I looked at Neji, he seemed to be just as clueless. "The winner of this match may get an automatic victory-by-forfeit in the next round, pending upon the condition of the contestant," he told us, which made both of our faces fall.

"But, wait, do you have any idea how he is?" I asked, my mind now fully on Lee.

Genma's face grew a sour look, and he said, "Honestly, he could go either way. Lady Fifth is looking at him as we speak." I looked up at Grandma's seat and saw that she indeed wasn't there. My hopes rose a little with this thought in mind; she was the most legendary healer in history. I focused my mind back on the match, and Genma said, "Begin!"

I leaped back before Neji could get in close and landed twenty feet away, ready for whatever Neji threw at me. He activated his _Byakugan_ and charged me, his hands engulfed in chakra. I pulled out a few shuriken and threw them at him, but he knocked them all out of the air with his bare hands, his chakra protecting them. "_Gentle Fist!_" A huge burst of chakra came from his hand when he got to me, which he aimed at my gut, and I knew if that hit, I would be in serious trouble. I just barely managed to throw my arm out and knock his aside, then land my fist in his face. Blood spattered from his mouth and he dropped onto his back, surprised at what I had just done.

"Okay, you've definitely gotten faster since last we fought," he said as he got back to his feet. It was one of the things Pervy-Sage and I had focused on while training, among other things. Before I could even react, Neji charged in again, and aimed his palm at my stomach. I jumped back just in time and landed ten feet away, and Neji stood firm, waiting for me to attack.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Four clones of myself appeared out of puffs of smoke and all pulled out a kunai, myself doing the same. We all charged at the same time, mixing ourselves in with one another so Neji couldn't tell which one was the real me. He put his palm in the stomach of one, elbowed another in the face, swept his arm through the air and connected it with the jugular of a third, and landed his palm in the stomach of the fourth, then back-handed him in the cheek, making him float over Neji's head. All four disappeared at the same time, leaving only the real me left.

"Next?" Neji said, waiting for me to make the next move. I burst out of the ground at Neji's feet with my fist raised, aimed at his chin, but he backed up out of the way of it and put his palm in the clone's gut, making it disappear. "Did you really think I would fall for that twice?" he said, a confident smile on his face. I instantly knew what he was talking about, and smiled in nostalgia. I had done that same move to win against him during the last time we took the Chunin Exams. I threw four more shuriken at him, which he sidestepped, and then he charged with the _Gentle Fist_. I jumped back before he could hit me and landed twenty feet away. The thing with the _Gentle Fist_ that made it so dangerous was that it gave the user the power to control their opponent's chakra flow. With one touch, they can either speed it up or halt it completely.

In other words, with one touch, the user can throw themselves the entire match. This was also why Pervy-Sage and I spent so much time working on my speed and reflexes, so I could more easily win against him. The fact that I had won against him last time around had been a complete miracle, but as Pervy-Sage said, Neji had gotten stronger too, which put me at even more risk. Neji charged me with his hands raised, aimed at my torso, and I rolled out of the way just as he got to me. I pulled out a kunai and threw it up at him, but he ducked out of the way and landed his foot in my chest, knocking me on my back and paralyzing me in pain. He waited for me to get back to my feet, and when I did, I immediately jumped back. I waited for Neji to charge me, which seemed to be exactly what he was waiting for me to do, something I was not going to do.

I pulled out a few more shuriken and threw them at him, but he sidestepped them and charged. I conjured three _Shadow Clones_ to help defend myself, but I knew Neji would just burst right through them. He did so with a few sweeps of his palm, making them all disappear in puffs of smoke. The smoke had floated between the two of us, and I used that as a cover to sneak in a surprise attack with a kunai. He saw it coming a mile away and landed his palm in my stomach. I disappeared in another puff of smoke, and the rest of the smoke blew away to reveal the real me with a kunai raised. "Clever," he said as he charged. I ducked his palm and tried to stab him with a kunai, but he grabbed my wrist and landed his palm in my gut.

I spat out blood and dropped to my knees, hands wrapped around my gut. Neji waited for me to get back to my feet, and when I did, I tried to land my fist in his jaw, but he backed out of the way, and I jumped back before he could counterattack. I knew charging him would only get me hit again, and I was too afraid of coming up blank if I tried to use any chakra, which also meant that I didn't want to risk getting hit again. I pulled out a kunai to defend myself when Neji attacked, even though I knew it would be pretty much useless. He finally charged with his _Gentle Fist_ ready, and I held my kunai out ready. Neji knocked my kunai out of my hand with a single swipe of his fist, and went in for the finishing blow. All I could think was if he thought he was going to beat me that easily, he had better think again. I grabbed his arm at the wrist and swept his legs out from under him, making him fall on his back.

I jumped back before he could get up and counterattack and landed near the wall. He got back to his feet slowly and charged with the _Gentle Fist_ again. I jumped up and landed on the wall, and Neji ran up after me, and I prepared to defend myself. He tried to hit me with his palm, but I sidestepped it and landed my fist in his gut. He spat out a little bit of blood, but managed what he had been meaning to do. One hand was wrapped around my wrist, and the other was in my gut, the impact of which sent blood out of my mouth. "What do you intend to do now…Naruto?" Neji asked me with a confident smile on his face. I wrenched my arm out of his grip and weakly wrapped both of them around the arm that was in my gut. I knew from the moment that palm had landed in my gut; Neji had cut off all of my chakra, and now was free to finish it.

"_Rotation!_" He spun around like a top on the wall, creating a spherical burst of chakra that knocked me right off, sending me crashing into the ground. Neji landed next to me and waited for me to get back to my feet, which I did so, aiming my fist at his jaw. He caught it in his hand and aimed his other one at my chest, but I landed my foot in his side, knocking him off-balance and leaving me free to run. The moment Neji caught back to his feet, he charged me again, his palms ready. I threw his first strike aside, ducked his second, and sent my fist at his stomach. He flipped backwards, landed his hands on the ground, and swung over them, landing his foot in my bottom jaw. I was knocked backwards, and Neji landed on both feet, then charged, landing both palms into my chest. Blood poured out of my mouth as I was sent backwards, and landed in the dirt.

That was it; this was the end of this match. I had absolutely no chakra, and I could barely stand. When I had finally got back to my feet, Neji looked prepared to end it. I could only imagine what he was going to do next, and if he performed anything that involved that seal of his, it wasn't going to feel good on the receiving end. No, he leapt forward with his palms raised, ready to knock me around some more. I may not have any jutsu access, but I could still dodge until the effects of his _Gentle Fist_ wore off. I caught the first strike and pushed him away, knocking him off balance, but he quickly regained it and came at me again. I pulled out a kunai, but he knocked it out of my hand and sent his palm into my gut. I jumped backwards just enough, and he charged again. I sent my fist at his face, but he knocked it away and landed his palm into my gut.

More blood slid out of my mouth, and I dropped to the ground, unable to move. "Hm, it seems you've been slacking in your training, Naruto. I honestly expected a harder match than this, but oh well-" "Come on, Naruto!"

[Matt's point-of-view] I was leaning over the railing, my knuckles white holding them, staring down at my comrade. "What are you doing! You can beat this guy, I know you can!" Neji Hyuga looked up at me with interest in his eyes.

[Neji's point-of-view] _That boy…_ I thought to myself, as I flashed back to all the times I had seen him fight. I remembered him getting bombarded by Hinata's jutsu, on the ground, inches from death. And then when all hope seemed lost, he had still managed to get up, prompting Hinata to forfeit and give him the match. And I knew that that had been what drove him to win against Koruki Matanu. He had a formidable mastery of _Fire Style_ jutsu, comparable to that of Hakuro Tsururi. Not to mention, he also knew the _Chidori_, which also added to his already-immense strength and talent. I could see it in his eyes that that technical loss to my cousin Hinata had been what drove him to get back to his feet when, once again, all hope seemed lost. And then, I looked down at Naruto, laying in the dirt at my feet, looking over at Matt.

I remembered how hard he had fought against me during the last exams, and how I always seemed to be one step ahead of him. I advised him to give up, that continuing would only result in his death, but no. He did not give up; he found strength deep within him, and managed to come back against all odds, and throw himself the match. I also remembered how heartbroken he had been when he had failed to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. He strived to make himself stronger for the sole purpose of retrieving Sasuke from the clutches of his new master, Orochimaru. And finally, I remembered what I used to be like. I used to be hateful, and irritable towards everyone and everything. I was furious with the Main Branch of the Hyuga Clan, the branch that Hinata resided in.

Hinata's father, my uncle, had killed a ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village for kidnapping Hinata in the dead of night. The Cloud were furious at this willful killing of one of their men and refused to even consider the kidnapping. They demanded that my father be killed as well; a life for a life, otherwise, war would break out between our two nations. A man was killed, but it was not my uncle, Hiashi. The man that was killed was my father, Hizashi, Hiashi's twin brother. I at first thought that the Main Branch of the clan had forced this upon my father, and as a result, I took my anger out on the Main Branch of the clan, namely Hinata. After fighting Naruto, and being put in the hospital, Hiashi came to visit me. He showed me something my father had written to me, but I had never seen.

_Neji_

_I only have a little time left. I want to use that limited time to convey something to you. The Head of Ninjas from the Land of Lightning who was trying to kidnap Miss Hinata, was killed by Lord Hiashi. But the Land of Lightning didn't acknowledge the kidnapping of Miss Hinata, made only the killing of the Head Ninja a problem, and made unreasonable demands. They wanted the life of their Head Ninja's killer. Hiashi knew full well what was happening, and was fully prepared, but I stepped in, and offered my own body. I am writing this to tell you I wasn't killed to protect the Head Family, but to protect my siblings, family, and the land. By my own will, I chose death. Overcome your own fate, Neji. Fate is something you work out with your own hands._

After seeing this, I was no longer bitter towards the Main Branch; I had overcome the darkness of hate, and became a new person. Now that I knew my father had chosen his own death, I no longer had reason to be angry. I was jarred from nostalgia by Naruto landing his fist in my cheek. I hit the ground, and looked up at him, back on his feet and ready to go.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "Well?" I said, "What are you waiting for? It's time to finish this!"


	34. Chapter 34: The Byakugan's Strength

Whoever reads this, take a moment to remember the thousands of lives lost on this tragic day. Think about the tens of thousands of family members who still can't think of this day without crying. We should think about the terror that happened every day of the week, but it especially needs to be recognized now, because even ten, twenty, fifty years after it happened, we will never forget the horrors that occured. Take a moment of silence to bless everyone who was lost or who knew someone who was lost in the destruction of the World Trade Center. Then go hug your families.

THE BYAKUGAN'S STRENGTH

"Well? What are you waiting for? It's time to finish this!"

Matt's words of encouragement had given me the strength I needed to get back to my feet and face Neji. Neji got back to his feet as well and raised his palms, which were flowing with chakra. I pulled out a kunai to defend myself, since I didn't have the chakra to do anything else. We both charged, me with my kunai, Neji with his _Gentle Fist_. Neji landed his palm in my wrist, making me drop my knife, and he ducked in and aimed his other palm at my stomach. I managed to sidestep the brunt of it, but just the chakra emanating from it that touched my side was enough to affect my chakra system. Neji's palm then flew up and landed in my cheek, knocking the blood out of me, and sending me spiraling into the dirt.

I got back to my feet, and Neji was already charging. His palm landed in the dirt where my stomach would have been if I hadn't jumped back out of the way, and he used the hand on the ground to keep his balance while he flipped over it and landed his foot in my stomach. I slid across the ground on my butt, the wind knocked right out of me, and stopped seven feet away. Neji was back on his feet with his palms raised, waiting for me to get back to mine. I did so, but instead of charging, I backed up, trying to get some distance between the two of us. I stopped on the opposite side of the arena, and made a hand sign. I started trying to build up chakra, and I felt something stirring inside of me.

[Neji's point-of-view] "I remember this…" I said quietly to myself. During our last fight, he was in the same position he is now, zero chakra and trapped. But then, he started trying to build up chakra, and even though my _Byakugan_, which could see and measure an opponent's chakra, detected none, suddenly it was there, just as it had been at the start of the match. And that was exactly what was happening now; at first, the chakra came slowly, but in a magnificent burst that tore the ground apart, Naruto's chakra was back in full measure, and he was in his prime.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "_Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I filled the arena with clones, all ready to attack Neji with everything they had. They all pulled out kunai knives and charged, but not before Neji had. He landed right into one, knocked another in the cheek, and jumped out of the way of two kunai that had been thrown by a third. One of the kunai landed in a clone behind him, while Neji grabbed the second and landed it in the clone that had thrown it. Neji landed to ten clones charging him at once, and not one to be unprepared, he performed a _Rotation_, which made them all disappear in puffs of smoke.

The smoke cleared just in time for Neji to see all the rest of the clones either charging on the ground or dropping on top of him from the air. Everything suddenly went black except for me, Neji, and the clones, and a green seal appeared at Neji's feet. "_Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!_" The seal disappeared and color returned to the scene, and Neji landed the tips of his fingers in two clones, one after the other, saying "_Two Palms!_" He hit four more clones, saying "_Four Palms!_" and then eight more: "_Eight Palms!_" There was now a huge cloud of smoke all around him as he took out the clones, one after another. "_Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms!_"

Not until it was too late did I realize what he was up to. His hand shot out of the smoke and landed in my chest; "_Sixty-Four Palms!_" Tiny bursts of chakra appeared all over my body as I dropped to the ground, unable to move. The smoke cleared to reveal Neji, gasping for air, hunched over in exhaustion, looking down at me with a triumphant smile. "_Rasengan!_" The clone that he had hit disappeared, as the real me and another clone charged in from behind with the spiraling ball of chakra.

"What in the-?" Neji said in complete shock as he looked behind him to watch me charge with my jutsu. He was jarred back to reality just in time, and managed to jump in an arc over me while I ran straight under him. He landed his foot in the head of my clone, making him disappear, and as he dropped behind me, he landed his other foot in my back. I lost control of the _Rasengan_ as I hit my hands, and Neji waited for me to get back to my feet before attacking again. I could hear him panting behind me, and I knew this fight was finally starting to get to him.

"Haah!" I got back to my feet and charged, and before he could get over the shock of my sudden attack, my fist landed in his jaw. He landed flat on his back with blood trailing from his mouth. I tried to beat his head into the dirt, but he back-flipped to his feet and charged. I landed my fist in his stomach, and he had the wind knocked out of him as he stepped back, massaging his stomach. I jumped back before he could counterattack and landed towards the wall, waiting for him to attack. He finally got his breath back and charged, both hands raised. I caught both of his arms by the wrists and lowered myself to the ground, putting both legs in his stomach, and flipping him over me. He landed in the wall and fell to a heap on the ground, and I pulled out a kunai and waited for him to get back up. When he did so, neither of us attacked, and instead decided to take a minute to catch our breath.

"You…You _have_ gotten stronger, Naruto," Neji complimented me.

"Yeah, so have you," I replied with an exhausted smile. Finally, we both charged each other, and Neji knocked my kunai out of my hand with one swipe. He aimed his other hand at my chest, but I caught it by the wrist, and landed my foot in his stomach. He had the wind knocked out of him, and I landed my fist in his jaw. He fell to the ground, and I stepped on his chest to pin him. He rolled, knocking me off of him, and he jumped to his feet and stepped on my chest. What he forgot about was the fact that I was armed. He jumped off of me as I aimed my knife at his ankle, and managed to graze the soul of his foot. I got back to my feet, and when Neji landed, I threw my knife at him. He sidestepped it and caught it by the handle, then threw it back at me.

I rolled out of the way, then pulled out another kunai and charged, and Neji waited for me to come. "_Rotation!_" The blade of my kunai was grinded right off as I was sent flying back and landed ten feet away.

Neji waited for me to get back to my feet, and when I did, I made a hand sign and said, "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Nine clones of myself appeared out of puffs of smoke, and five of them charged. Neji caught the wrist of one and landed his palm in his chest, then let two more, who were charging from either side, crash into each other while he jumped out of the way. He landed his palms in a shoulder of both, and then tripped up the forth and threw him into the fifth. That was when he noticed the rest of us charging. One of the clones punched him in the face while I jumped on his back and launched myself into the air. The other three clones all slid under him with their foot raised, and with each kick, shouted, "_Na!_"

"_Ru!_"

"_To!_"

Neji went flying up into the air, where I was waiting for him. I swung my foot down and landed it in the back of his head; "_Uzumaki Barrage!_" He landed face-first into the ground, and I landed five feet away, while my clones backed up, all on standby. At first, I thought I had won, but then Neji started getting back up.

"Y-Yes…I remember that unorthodox technique of yours, the _Naruto U-Uzumaki Barrage_-gah!" He coughed up blood to go along with the pool forming from his broken nose, as he raised his head up to look at me. In the blink of an eye, he landed a kunai in each of my four clones, making them all disappear in puffs of smoke. I threw a shuriken down at him, but he rolled out of the way and got slowly back to his feet, disoriented from my last attack. He finally got his senses back in order and charged, his _Gentle Fist_ in full flare. I ducked his first swipe and aimed my fist at his stomach, but he knocked it away and aimed his palms at my stomach. I jumped back, and when I landed he was charging me head-on. I pulled out a kunai and swiped at him, but he stopped short just before it hit him, and then charged me again.

I jumped in an arc over him, and he swiped his hand at me while I was right above him, but I managed to fly out of the way and land behind him perfectly. I lunged at him with my kunai, but he knocked it out of my hand and landed his palm in my gut. More blood slid through my teeth, but I knocked his arm away and aimed my fist at his face. He caught it and aimed his palm at my stomach again, but I sidestepped it, jumped up, and aimed my foot at his jaw. He blocked it with his arm and tried to land his own foot in my stomach, but I blocked it and was sent sliding across the ground. Neji charged me while I was just getting back to my feet, but I rolled out of the way, throwing him off, and I then pulled out four shuriken and threw them at him.

He jumped up out of the way of them and dived down towards me. I back-flipped out of the way and landed on my feet, but he charged me and aimed his palm right at my face. I was still coming out of that back-flip, so it didn't appear I had time to block or dodge. Fortunately, I was able to dodge him; unfortunately, that involved falling back out of the way and banging the back of my head on the ground, splitting it in two and making blood stain the dirt. Neji hovered over me, ready to finish me when I got back to my feet, but I swept my feet under him, making him jump back to avoid it, and giving me a chance to get back to my feet safely. I pulled out a kunai and charged while Neji was still in the air, but he was ready for me, as he knocked my arm away and aimed his arm at my chest.

I blocked it with my other arm, and Neji jumped back before I could counterattack. I threw my kunai at him, but he knocked it away with a swipe of his palm. I charged him with my bare fist, since I was running out of kunai, and Neji knocked it away and spun around, then landed his foot in my stomach, knocking me off my feet. I slowly got back to my feet and made a hand sign. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" A single clone appeared right next to me, and I held out my hand to him. He started swinging his arms back and forth around my hand, and a _Rasengan_ formed in my palm. The point of the clone waving his arms around was to keep the chakra contained in my palm, since I couldn't do it myself. "_Rasengan!_"

Both my clone and myself charged at Neji, who smiled like he had an advantage; I knew differently. He jumped in an arc over me, and I ran right under him, coming out behind him with the _Rasengan_ still intact. Neji landed, and the ground burst apart at his feet. Another clone shot up with his fist raised, aiming it at Neji's chin. Neji managed to dodge it and floated up into the air, and the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke, while I landed the _Rasengan_ right into his back. He spat out blood and shot towards the wall with the _Rasengan_ still in him. He slammed against the wall so hard it collapsed and fell on top of him. I landed on the ground and knew I had won, until an arm poked out of the rubble and planted itself on the ground, trying to pull the owner out.

Neji crawled out of the rubble, blood all over him, and said, "I don't know what kind of jutsu that was…but this fight…is far from over!" With the last word, he assumed a fighting position, and another green seal appeared under him. "_Gentle Fist Art: Air Palm!_" He thrust his arm forward and fired off a wave of pure air at me, that I didn't see coming and was hit head-on with. The force of this new attack caused an explosion that rose dust ten feet into the air, and I landed near the back end of the cloud, sprawled across the ground. Neji stumbled forward from the pile of rubble, blood running down his arm from his shoulder, and he waited for me to get back to my feet. The dust cleared to reveal myself back up, another clone and another _Rasengan_ ready to go.

Neji assumed the same fighting position he did a minute ago, and I charged him head-on with my _Rasengan_ raised. "_Gentle Fist Art: Air Palm!_" Just before I hit him, I collided the _Rasengan_ into his _Air Palm_, and we both struggled against each other for domination. After about five seconds of struggling, our attacks exploded with so much force that the wall behind Neji was blown out, and we were both engulfed in a giant dust cloud. It took about a minute for the dust to clear, and both Neji and I were still on our feet. Neji had been blown back into the wall, and was now standing in a giant crater blown into it. He had blood running down his face from the impact, and his headband had been blown off to reveal a strap of leather tied over bandages, wrapped around his forehead.

We were both panting in equal exhaustion, and my own headband dropped down and hit the ground. "Naruto…" Neji said to me, "thank you." And with that, he keeled over and fell face-first into the dirt.

Genma came down and checked his pulse. After a moment, he smiled and said, "He's just out from exhaustion." Then, he addressed the audience and said, "Alright, the winner to the last match of the first round is Naruto Uzumaki!"

Author's Note: With the conclusion of the first round, many things are on the horizon. The first of which is the fight that I know most of us have probably been waiting for for years. Also, there's something in the works for the one-year anniversary of Naruto Chronicles coming in January. I'll delve into more detail about that at the end of the Season Two finale.


	35. Chapter 35: Hatsuji's Power

HATSUJI'S POWER

"The winner of the last match of the first round is Naruto Uzumaki!" Well, I had done it again; I had beaten the legendary Hyuga prodigy a second time.

[Matt's point-of-view] "Now then, on to the semi-finals," said Genma. "The first two competitors of the semi-finals, Hatsuji Korero and Amachi Lee, please come down to the arena at this time." Both of them came down from the competitor's stand into the arena. Hatsuji was looking confident as ever, while Amachi was actually looking pretty nervous. "All right, begin!"

Instead of her signature frontal attack, Amachi instead backed up to get away from Hatsuji, who smiled overconfidently. "Alright, let's finish this quickly," Hatsuji said with the same smug smile as he charged at Amachi. Amachi kept a defensive position while she waited for Hatsuji to come, and when he was five feet away from her, she leaped.

"_Leaf Hurricane!_" She spun through the air with her foot outstretched, but Hatsuji caught it by the ankle, swung her around, and threw her all the way into the wall of the arena, twenty feet away. She slammed into it and crumpled to the ground with chunks of the wall on top of her, but she immediately got back to her feet to prepare a counterattack for whatever Hatsuji had coming. "Okay, I'm not going to win without some sacrifices, so…_First Gate, Gate of Opening: Open!_" Her veins pulsed and her muscles enlarged, and Hatsuji only smiled even more. She charged him with the extra strength and speed of the First Gate backing her, and Hatsuji took up a fighting position. Amachi ran right into him, and when the dust from the impact cleared, several large slivers of wood were strewn across the ground.

Amachi was standing in front of them, panting slightly and looking around for the real Hatsuji. After a few minutes, Hatsuji appeared right behind her with a kunai raised, and Amachi spun around and landed her fist in the side of his head. Or at least, that's what I thought had happened. Her hand went right through him like he was an illusion. It was a _Clone Jutsu_, which now disappeared in a puff of smoke. Shuriken flew out from the stands at Amachi, who leaped out of the way, and when she landed, she charged the area where they came from. When she got to the wall, Hatsuji jumped out into the open, and Amachi charged up after him. Upon closing the gap, she sent her fist at his face, but Hatsuji knocked it aside and landed his knee in her jaw. He then landed the side of his fist in the other side of her jaw, making her spiral down and smash into the ground.

Almost immediately after she hit, Amachi charged back out and jumped back up after him, while Hatsuji just floated back to the ground like it was nothing. She leveled with him on the wall, then shot at him, but he grabbed both her wrists, landed his knee in her stomach, and flipped her over him, sending her flying back into the wall. They both landed on the ground, he more gracefully than she, and Hatsuji waited for Amachi to get back to her feet before attacking. Amachi's leg weights flew out of the dust and smashed to the ground, blasting dust everywhere, and she charged at the speed of light. She then ran in circles around Hatsuji, who waited patiently with the same smug smile he had been wearing throughout the course of the match. Finally, Amachi came in on him and kicked him into the air, sending blood out of his mouth. She then jumped up behind him and threw her bandages out, wrapping them around his torso so he couldn't escape.

She grabbed him around the waist, and they both spiraled towards the ground, smashing into it with the force of a cannonball, sending dust into the air. "_Primary Lotus!_" Amachi flew out of the dust and waited for it to clear, panting heavily from the effort of using the _Primary Lotus_. The dust cleared to reveal a log split cleanly in two.

"Hi, there!" Hatsuji had appeared behind Amachi, and he tripped her up, which made her spin around, and he then landed his fist in her stomach. She was knocked senseless, and Hatsuji swung his leg around and landed it in her chest, sending her flying all the way across the arena. She smashed into the opposite wall, bringing some of it down on top of her. After a few seconds, she slowly rose back to her feet, her shoulder cut open from the impact, and she crossed her arms. "_Second Gate, Gate of Rest: Open!_" A shockwave tore up the ground as more veins pulsed and her muscles grew even larger. "Well, now, things are getting interesting!" said Hatsuji, and instead of a smug, overconfident smile, he wore one that showed interest, and the expectance of a good fight ahead. Amachi charged him at light-speed, tearing up the ground along the way, and Hatsuji made some hand signs.

It looked like he most certainly did expect a good fight ahead, because this wasn't a _Substitution Jutsu_, _Clone Jutsu_, or even a _Boulder Breaker_. "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" A set of large rocks rose up out of the ground between him and Amachi, but Amachi smashed right through them like they were made of paper. Unfortunately for her, Hatsuji had not used the _Rock Wall_ to defend himself, so much as a diversion to escape, so when the dust from the impact cleared, he had completely disappeared. "_Earth Style: Terra Wave!_" Hatsuji flew down and slammed his fist into the ground, causing a shockwave that tore up the ground going in a line to Amachi, who jumped out of the way to avoid getting smashed or buried. She landed on the wall of the arena, and Hatsuji appeared behind her, tripped her up, grabbed her around the waist, and threw her up into the air.

Hatsuji shot into the air after her, and he landed his foot in her stomach, knocking her to the ground. Before she hit, he was right below her, and he landed his foot in her side, grabbed her by the back of the shirt, spun her around, and threw her into the ground. "_Earth Style: Spike Pit!_" Before she hit, huge rocks rose up out of the ground that were sharpened to spikes all around where she was going to hit. She saw them just in time to maneuver her body so that they would only graze her as she fell into them. After a few seconds of nothing happening, "_Third Gate, Gate of Life: Open!_" The rocks burst apart with the force of the shockwave that emanated from Amachi, whose muscles were bigger than anyone's in the arena, her skin was red, and her eyes were pupil-less.

At this, Hatsuji only took on a bigger smile, and didn't seem remotely scared by the fact that she had more than enough power to splatter him across the arena. She charged him at light-speed, and his smile got even bigger. He held out his fist to intercept her, and his _Boulder Breaker_ sent her flying down and smashing into the ground. She immediately got back to her feet and shot back up at Hatsuji, slamming into him and knocking him further into the air, but it turned out he had blocked it, so it didn't really faze him. He fell past her, and she came down on top of him with her fist raised. She landed it in his gut, sending him flying towards the ground, but she had wrapped her bandages around his waist, and now reeled him back up to her.

"There she goes…it's over," I said to no one in particular.

"_Hidden Lotus!_" Her fist and foot landed in Hatsuji's torso, blasting him into the ground. I was sure there was no way Hatsuji could have come out of that, but when the dust cleared, slivers of wood were piled on the ground.

"Dammit!" I said, disappointed that that hadn't worked.

"Did you really think that that would work on me?" Everyone in the arena turned as one to the top of the Hokage's stand. Hatsuji was standing there, a malevolent grin still spread across his face. "You ought to know by now that your attacks won't ever work on me, Amachi Lee. You're finished!" he said to her.

"Wanna bet!" Amachi asked, and she sped into the air above Hatsuji, and was now preparing to dive down on top of him, her fist raised. Tsunade moved out of the way just before Amachi hit the stand, her sheer strength smashing it into the ground. Hatsuji flew out of the dust cloud unharmed, but I knew that wouldn't last forever. Amachi charged up out of the dust, her fist raised, and landed it in Hatsuji's gut, and she then landed her foot in his gut, sending him crashing into the ground, which in turn sent dust flying everywhere. The dust cleared, and Hatsuji was gone. Amachi looked above her and saw Hatsuji there with his fist raised, amped up with chakra. "_Boulder Breaker!_"

He landed his fist in Amachi's gut, sending her flying into the ground. The dust from the impact had concealed her, so no one knew whether she was still able to fight. We were all waiting in suspense, wondering what was about to happen. "_Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain: Open!_" The shockwave from this sent cracks across the entire arena, even making parts of the lower wall collapse. Hatsuji landed on the ground, and Amachi charged him, the force of her charge blasting up dust where she had started, and tearing up the ground where she ran. She slammed right into Hatsuji, the impact of which sent dust flying in every direction, and slammed him into the wall, making a five foot area of it collapse, and sending some of the audience running.

Hatsuji's body came flying out of the dust and flew straight up into the air, clearing a hundred feet easily. Just before he flew out of sight, he was engulfed in a puff of smoke, and was gone. Amachi flew out of the dust, followed by several huge rocks shaped like spikes, which came to a halt three feet out of the dust, and Amachi then landed on the ground. Hatsuji jumped out of the dust with a hand sign already made, and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" My jaw dropped at these words; not only did he have two Nature Types, but he knew the jutsu that I had been struggling with for over a month. Well, I was about to see what the final product looked like. A thin but intense jet of flame flew from his mouth at Amachi, which had all the capability to turn her into a crisp. The fire traveled across the ground, making a sea of flames that Amachi jumped out of the way of.

Hatsuji made some more hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" Several rocks shot out of the spikes that Hatsuji had conjured earlier, and flew right at Amachi. She dived out of the way of them, falling straight into the flames, but the intensity of her chakra blew them aside within five feet of her. "_Ninja Art: Pyroproof Jutsu!_" Hatsuji landed in the flames, and they all blew aside within five feet of him as well while he ran at Amachi. She was just getting back on balance when Hatsuji landed his fist in her stomach, then spun around, and landed his foot in her stomach, sending her flying and smashing into the wall of the arena. He jumped up after her, his fist raised and beefed up with chakra. "_Boulder Breaker!_"

He landed in the crater she was embedded in, blasting dust everywhere. A moment later, he jumped back out of the dust, a smile on his face that showed he hadn't won, but that he was close. The voice wasn't loud, but it echoed throughout the arena as if it was coming from the walls themselves. "_Fifth Gate, Gate of Closing, OPEN!_" The wall collapsed in on itself, and the ground near it was torn apart as Amachi flew out of the wall, making a large portion of the stands collapse as well, making several people in the audience have to find new seats. She smashed into Hatsuji, then threw him into the ground, then landed right on top of him, blasting dust everywhere. The dust cleared, and two halves of a log were laying there.

"_Earth Style: Earth Eruption!_" The instant Amachi landed, the ground at her feet exploded, sending her flying into the air. "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" Several rocks flew up at her and landed in her back, sending blood everywhere, and closing the five gates Amachi had opened. Her skin turned back to white, her muscles decreased in size and her veins faded, and she crashed to the ground and remained motionless. Hatsuji landed towards the edge of the arena and waited for Genma to make the call.

After sixty seconds of Amachi not rising back to her feet, Genma called, "Alright, the winner is Hatsuji Korero!"

Four Leaf Ninja spread out to the four corners of the arena and made identical hand signs. "_Wind Style: Extinguishing Twister!_" Wind rushed into the arena, forming a huge twister that blew away all the flame that covered the arena from Hatsuji's _Dragon Flame Jutsu_. This made way for some medical ninja who rushed onto the scene, and they examined Amachi, whispered some bad news to Genma, and ran off with Amachi on a stretcher.

"Alright, onto the next match," Genma called. "Gaara of the Desert; Mathew Withau, please come down into the arena."


	36. Chapter 36: Sandstorm

SANDSTORM

Gaara and I stepped down from the stands into the arena and faced each other, waiting for Genma to begin the match.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Aw, man! Things couldn't be worse. There was no way Matt could beat Gaara. I mean, I could barely beat him, and I had help. But Matt was all alone; no one to help him. The only reason I wasn't asking Genma to stop the match was because I knew Gaara had changed, and I knew that now he would only mangle Matt, and not actually kill him. I looked at Kakashi-sensei, silently telling him my fears, and when he looked back at me, I was surprised by what I saw. Instead of fear and foreboding, I saw an air of confidence in Matt. Well, I guess they hadn't spent the last month picking daisies; when you train with Kakashi, you pick up some pretty powerful jutsu, as evidenced by the unveiling of _Chidori_ in Matt's fight with Koruki.

I just hoped it wasn't all Matt had up his sleeve, because so far, he had been fighting in a mirror image of my old comrade, Sasuke Uchiha, and he couldn't beat Gaara either. As far as I was concerned, nothing short of my _Rasengan_ was going to be able to beat that sand. I guess I would just have to see how he faired.

[Matt's point-of-view] "Matt…Gaara…are you ready?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"Yes," said Gaara.

"Then begin!"

The cork on Gaara's gourd popped out, and sand slowly floated out of it, waiting for my move. I jumped backwards and made some hand signs; "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew the huge fireball out of my mouth at Gaara, whose sand formed a shield to block it. I figured my _Fireball Jutsu_ would char his sand, but I was wrong. He utilized the power of his chakra to harden the sand, and make the fireball disappear harmlessly on contact with it. I came down on top of him with my fist raised, ready to pound him into the dirt. His sand shield came up and reformed on top of him, blocking my way. My fist landed in the rock-hard shield, making me bounce back up and fly behind him. Right after I hit the shield, it came down and slammed me in the stomach, slamming me into the ground.

It then slammed into me once again, sending me flying into the wall. I rose out of the rubble, making some hand signs along the way, and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired twenty tiny fireballs out of my mouth at Gaara, whose sand shield blocked those as well.

"_Sand Shuriken!_" Gaara fired five balls of sand from the shield at me, which I jumped, landing on and sliding up the wall. He then sent a stream of sand at me, which I jumped out of the way of, and I then dived down at him with a fist raised. He brought his sand back and prepared to grab me with it when I came, but I super-sped out of the way and came around behind him with my fist raised. I managed to take him by surprise, and since his sand wasn't fast enough to keep up with me, I landed my fist in his cheek. I knocked him forward, and he landed on his sand, which had acted as a cushion to catch him. He got back to his feet with cracks in his armor, which quickly repaired themselves as Gaara prepared for his next attack.

I super-sped above him with my fists raised and my fingers interlocked, ready for another shot at beating Gaara's head into the dirt. I flipped forward to give myself more power, and Gaara, seeing it as the only means of dodging me, jumped out of the way while I crashed into the ground. The dust cleared, and I said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired three human-sized fireballs at Gaara, whose sand shield blocked them, and he then fired three _Sand Shuriken_ at me. I ran up the wall, expecting the _Sand Shuriken_ to smash harmlessly into it, but instead they homed in on me, traveling up the wall like buzz saws. I finally made a spectacular leap off the wall, which had enough power to propel me to the other side of the arena, and the _Shuriken_ veered off and followed me through the air.

I pulled out a kunai and slashed one, then the second, then spun around and slashed the third. What I hadn't noticed was that Gaara had shot a stream of sand up at me while I was busy with the shuriken, which wrapped around my leg, then pulled me down, slamming me into the ground. I bounced back up into the air, and the same stream of sand slammed me in the gut, driving me back and smashing me into the wall. I spat out blood on impact, and sat motionlessly on the ground while the sand retreated back to Gaara and waited for me to get back to my feet. I did so and immediately jumped out of the way, but Gaara's sand didn't attack; instead it just continued floating around him. I landed on the wall and pulled out three shuriken, waiting for a good chance to use them.

Before I could find one, the sand rushed at me with the intention of smashing me into the wall, but I jumped out of the way the instant before it hit so it couldn't follow. Three _Sand Shuriken_ blasted out of the wall and flew straight at me, but I threw my shuriken at them, which knocked them out of the air as shapeless sand. "_Sand Shower!_" Gaara waved his hand, and a barrage of sand needles shot up at me, fully capable of putting me in the same state that Hinata had.

"_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" True to his word, and along with helping me improve my _Fire Style_, Kakashi had also taught me at least one jutsu in all five Chakra Natures. This jutsu in particular condensed all the air around me into a spherical shield that blew away all of the sand needles. I dropped like a rock and landed on the ground twenty feet away from Gaara, who pulled all his sand back to him to prepare a battle strategy. A slight rumbling shook the ground at my feet, just barely enough for me to notice, and I jumped up, but not in time to dodge what Gaara had waiting for me. An arm shot up out of the ground that was the color of sand, but solid with blue veins running up and down it, and grabbed my ankle, holding me in place while Gaara shot a huge stream of sand at me.

I pulled out three kunai, landed one in the arm, and threw the other two at the stream. The paper-bombs on all three detonated, blowing the sand-arm apart-which was several meters long, so I wasn't caught in the blast-while the stream was blown out of the air, making the sand rain on the ground. The reason I had so many more weapons now was because during Naruto's fight, I had snuck off to the weapons shop to restock. I knew I had been spotted by at least three different people, including Tsunade and Kakashi, and then one of the Feudal Lords, but I also knew the former two wouldn't care; I had kind of taken advantage of the leniency and compassion the two of them had towards me. I landed and skidded across the ground, coming to a stop at the base of the wall.

Gaara's sand was still recovering from the blast, while he waited patiently, keeping both eyes firmly fixed on me. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired twenty tiny fireballs at Gaara, whose sand came together to form a shield that blocked them. I sped above him with my fist raised, ready to land it on top of him. He saw it just in time and jumped out of the way, causing me to crash into the ground. I caused a dust cloud on impact that shielded both me from Gaara's vision, and him from mine. Unfortunately for me, I had the entire arena to shoot for, since I hadn't seen where he went, while he only had a dust cloud about five feet wide. I jumped out of the cloud just as a giant stream of sand landed on top of it, and Gaara then fired four _Sand Shuriken _at me.

I spiraled out of the way, making them all fly past me, and I then threw three kunai down at him, which landed in his shield. The paper-bombs on the handles detonated, blowing a huge crater in the ground to go with all the wreckage caused by Lee's and Amachi's fights. I landed on the wall opposite of Gaara and super-sped around, coming up behind him with my fist raised. Just before I hit him, Gaara turned to sand and burst apart. In an instant, he had created a _Sand Clone_, combined with a _Substitution Jutsu_ to give him time to escape. Gaara summoned his sand and formed a cloud below his feet to keep him elevated, and also keep out of range of my melee attacks. He fired a _Sand Shower_ from his sand-cloud that rained down on top of me, creating gashes all over my body, and I lost my balance and fell to the ground.

I regained my senses just in time to see Gaara shoot a huge sand-stream down at me, which I managed to roll out of the way of and get back to my feet. Gaara fired a _Sand Shower_ directly from the stream he had just fired, catching me off guard and causing more gashes to appear across my body. The needles flew back up to Gaara's aid, floating around his body, awaiting his command. I breathed through the pain, considering I didn't have too many other options, and weaved a few signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired the fireball out of my mouth, which shot up at Gaara, whose sand once more formed a shield to block it. Being out of reach of my melee attacks put me at a serious disadvantage, since the only ninjutsu I possessed that was able to penetrate it was _Chidori_. And I only had one more of those, possibly two, since it had been over an hour since I last used one. (Anything involving super-natural powers aside from illusions. Those would be called 'genjutsu', and then you have your punching and kicking, otherwise referred to as 'taijutsu'.)

Regardless, I could only use the _Chidori_ when I had a good chance. The only reason I hadn't used it when I had actually made contact with him was because I honestly didn't think I would be able to accomplish it. And if I managed to push him far enough to release that Shukaku spirit Kakashi told me about, I had a pretty good feeling I wasn't going to win. My only chance was to throw enough firepower at him to create an opening for _Chidori_, and that didn't seem too likely to happen in the current situation. I pulled out a kunai to defend myself, not that I thought it would actually help, and Gaara flew further into the air, keeping his sand with him.

"Alright, that's it," I said, and I super-sped up the wall. I jumped off at the top, sailing through the air, and aimed right at Gaara, who sent his sand to intercept me. I threw the kunai at the sand shield, and the blast from the paper-bomb blew it apart, giving me a wide opening. Gaara looked in complete shock, and when I was five feet from him, he smiled confidently. The sand converged on me from either side, encasing me in a cocoon that only left room in my face for me to breathe.

"_Sand Coffin! _I'm sorry this fight had to end so soon. I was truly looking forward to a tiresome match, but oh well. Maybe with some more training, you will be able to defeat me. In the meantime, farewell. _Sand Burial!_"


	37. Chapter 37: Light of a Thousand Birds

LIGHT OF A THOUSAND BIRDS

"I'm sorry this fight had to end so soon, I was truly looking forward to a tiresome match, but oh well. Maybe with some more training, you will be able to defeat me. In the meantime, farewell. _Sand Burial!_" Gaara's sand crushed me with just enough power to crush both arms and legs, but not kill me. That would have been the case if I had not disappeared in a puff of smoke. I didn't come out of the smoke as a log; instead, when the smoke cleared, I had disappeared completely.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "No way!" I said in utter shock, having recognized the jutsu immediately.

[Matt's point-of-view] I came down from above with a _Chidori_ active, aiming it at Gaara's shoulder so I wouldn't kill him. His sand was too slow to defend against me, but Gaara was not. He flew out of the way on his sand cloud, making me drop like a rock and smash my _Chidori_ into the ground, blasting dust twenty feet around me. The dust cleared and I was looking up at Gaara, bitter that my plan hadn't worked. "A _Shadow Clone Jutsu_, eh?" Gaara acknowledged. "Not bad, not bad at all. It's impossible for me to keep up with you while you're using your full speed, so you could have made the sign necessary any time at all while you were speeding around, and had the clone replace you while you sped off into hiding just as stealthily. You seem to be living proof that a shinobi's blades and jutsu are not his only weapons."

"Thanks. Tell me something; how did you come by that sand jutsu?" I asked him.

Gaara's eyes closed and he took on a mournful look, as if the story brought back painful memories. "The jutsu was given to me at birth, when my father had the Sand Spirit known as Shukaku sealed inside of me. The sand is a special jutsu that only I possess; it is in fact a manifestation of the Shukaku's chakra, coming to my aid and protecting me whenever an attacker threatens. In return for my being its host and its life source, the Shukaku sand will also heed to my bidding, and attack my foe at my will."

I listened to this story with interest; from what I got out of it, the sand was more of a living ally than a jutsu; originating from a separate individual from Gaara, to attack at his will. I could only imagine what that could be like. I didn't spend a whole lot of time pondering, as one false move, and I could lose this entire match, and I made a single hand sign. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Five clones appeared around me, and they all drew kunai knives to combat Gaara. "I'm not quite at the point where Naruto is with this jutsu, but it's still a handy technique when you're in a tight corner," I said as my clones all spread out across the arena to attack from different angles. All of my clones sped up the walls and then jumped off at the top, coming at Gaara from every direction.

Gaara clapped his hands together and said, "_Sand Defense Shell!_" All of his sand came around him to form a complete sphere that protected him from my clones. The clones ran into it, and the moment they came into contact with the shell, enormous spikes formed, running the clones through the chest and making them all disappear in puffs of smoke.

"Oh, yippy," I said, not entirely sure what to do next. Then, some of the sand broke away from the cocoon, and compacted a foot or so above it into a tiny ball. The color of the sand lightened, but darkened at the center. It took me a minute to figure out what it was, but when I did, I was taken by shock. "Is that…an _eye_?" There was no mistaking it; Gaara's sand had formed an eyeball, and I had to guess it was used to see the outside when Gaara was in that cocoon. What was Gaara doing in there? Was he just going to hide behind that and use its strong defenses to do me in while I tried to bust it down? If so, he was going to have to think of something else, because Kakashi told me for a fact that my _Chidori_ would bust right through that shield.

There was just the fact that I didn't have quite enough chakra to make a _Chidori_ yet. I would just have to wait it out and rely on physical attacks while my chakra slowly built back up to the point where I could use the _Chidori_. There was more to it than that though; I had to wait until my chakra built up a little past the consumption rate of the _Chidori_, otherwise it was likely to kill me. There was also the prospect of failure to think about. If my _Chidori_ didn't do him in along with the shield, and I had no chakra left, I was as good as dead. I factored all these things in and estimated about an hour before I would be ready to use _Chidori_. Until then, I was stuck with super-speed and physical attacks. There wasn't a whole lot of point in standing here just doing nothing for an hour; if I could break that shield without _Chidori_, I might as well give it a shot.

I threw three kunai at the shield, which bounced off, and the paper-bombs detonated, blasting the shield, and hopefully cracking it, but when the smoke cleared, there wasn't even a scratch in the hard sand. I super-sped up to it with my fist raised, and landed it into the shield, only to have my knuckles cracked open, and then be nearly run through with defensive spikes. I fell and landed on the ground, my hand clutching the gash in my side from the spikes. I started thinking about what I was about to do next when five _Sand Shuriken_ shot from the shield and flew straight at me. I managed to jump out of the way, but the _Sand Shuriken_ flew up and around and came back at me, leaving me wide open. All five of them landed in my back, making me spit out blood and drop to the ground face-first with my back feeling like it was broken.

I couldn't get back to my feet, which left Gaara wide open to fire one big _Sand Shuriken_ from his cocoon, which hit me and nearly knocked me out. All of the sand from the giant _Sand Shuriken _floated back up and merged with Gaara's shield, giving him nearly unlimited ammo. I finally managed to get back to my feet and pull out a kunai to defend myself, only to be tripped up by the sand from the _Sand Shuriken_ he had fired before but hadn't called back grabbing my ankle and hoisting me into the air by it. I was dragged twenty feet into the air, swung around like a rag doll, and thrown into the wall of the arena, knocking chunks out and sending me crashing to the ground with blood all over my back and shirt.

Most of the sand went back into the cocoon, but one _Sand Shuriken_ flew down and slammed me in the stomach, making me spit out blood and feel like my ribs were broken. Finally, the sand flew back up and joined the cocoon, waiting for me to make my move. Unfortunately I was in too much pain to do any such thing. I was finally able to get back to my feet, but only to dodge any oncoming attacks; I didn't think I would be able to summon enough strength to actually get up to that height. A barrage of sand-needles shot from the cocoon, and I barrel-rolled out of the way while they smashed into the ground, then reverted to shapeless sand and floated back to the cocoon.

I then had a sudden idea, and super-sped up high into the air, barreling down at the cocoon with my fist ready. Without hesitation, a barrage of sand-needles were shot up at me, all of which pierced me, but I disappeared in a puff of smoke and came out as a log. I landed on the top of the cocoon and landed my fist in the eyeball, making it burst apart, and then I quickly jumped off before the cocoon could hit me. I landed on the ground to see what the cocoon would do, hoping I had impaired its ability to attack me at a distance, but the eye reformed, and the cocoon shot another barrage of needles at me. I super-sped out of the way of them, and came out at the top of the wall. The cocoon shot another barrage of needles at me, and I super-sped out of the way of those as well.

Apparently Gaara was getting smarter, because when I came out of my super-speed, a needle hit my leg, knocking me off my feet and making blood spatter across the ground. I tried to pull the needle out of my leg, but I didn't need to, as the sand turned into a shapeless cloud and floated back up to the cocoon. I knew I couldn't dodge another shot with my leg like this, and my mind drifted back to training with Kakashi.

"Chidori!_" I crashed into one of the many rocks scattered around the mountain, making it burst apart and send small slivers of rock flying, and I landed on the other side with _Chidori _still in tact. I deactivated the jutsu and turned around to look for approval rate from Kakashi. _

"_I'd say you have the _Chidori_ down pat. Three bursts at your age is truly something to withhold, four bursts in one day is a killer for me. We'll let you rest for a little while to let your chakra build back up, and then work on something else." _

_I immediately sat down where I was, panting with exhaustion. _

"_Not so fast, Kakashi." We both turned and saw Tsunade walking down the mountain path towards us. _

"_Lady Fifth. What brings you up here?" Kakashi asked. _

"_I have a jutsu of my own to teach him," Tsunade answered, looking at me pointedly. _

"_Yeah, what is it?" I asked, wondering what I was about to learn next. _

I made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Palm Healing Jutsu!_" My hand became engulfed in green chakra, and I put it to my leg wound and the gash started to close, blood flow being cut off, and the leg being put back to working order. That was what the _Palm Healing Jutsu_ did. It healed any wounds inflicted on the user, but there was a catch. The chakra consumption was enormous; I was now pretty much out of luck with _Chidori_, and now had to rely on other jutsu to break that cocoon. Half a dozen _Sand Shuriken_ shot down at me, and I knew those were going to be a lot tougher to dodge than needles. I leaped out of the way, but the _Shuriken_ followed, so I pulled out a kunai to use to swat them away.

I managed this with one, but the second knocked my knife out of my hand, leaving me wide open for the rest to come slamming into me. I maneuvered myself around them so they all flew up past me, but then they all doubled back and came back down. I landed and jumped out of the way, followed still by the _Sand Shuriken_, and I then finally made some hand signs. "_Fire Style Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired four tiny fireballs out of my mouth, which all intercepted the _Shuriken_, and reduced them to ashes. Apparently, Gaara saw this weakness in his sand just as quickly as I did, because when I turned back to the cocoon, it was floating further into the air, leveling out at a hundred feet; well out of range of any melee attacks.

I made four hand signs and took in a giant breath, building up an enormous amount of chakra into my chest. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" The _Dragon Flame Jutsu_ had been the first jutsu Kakashi and I worked on after the wall-walk and water-walk, and I now had it down pat. I fired an intense stream of fire out of my mouth, just like Hatsuji had, and sent it straight up at the cocoon. The fire hit, causing a massive explosion whose shockwave could be felt from a hundred feet below, and the cocoon shattered. A giant tendril of flame shot out of the explosion, and I figured Gaara had been caught off guard by the attack, but then I realized the tendril was heading straight at me.

I dived out of the way and the flame hit the ground, blasting me twenty feet away to the wall of the arena. I rose to a sitting position to see the flame clear and reveal Gaara had accomplished what he had been aiming for in that cocoon all along. His left arm and leg were the color of sand with blue veins running down them, and each were the size of tree trunks, tipped with clawed fingers and toes. The left side of his face had undergone the same transformation, which made all of the teeth on the left half of his mouth sharp fangs, and his eye black with a yellow dot for a pupil. He had unleashed the power of Shukaku.


	38. Chapter 38: Shukaku

The conclusion...:

SHUKAKU

"_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired an intense stream of fire at the cocoon, which burst apart in the explosion, and a tendril of flame shot down at me from it. I dived out of the way, and the tendril hit the ground, sending me flying into the wall with the shockwave from the impact. I rose to a sitting position to see that Gaara had unleashed the power of the Shukaku. "Great," I said through heavy breaths. I knew from the start of the match that if he had unleashed that power, I was done for. The only thing I could do now was hold out until his chakra ran out. _Chidori_ was as out of the question as ever, and I didn't have enough chakra to pull off another _Dragon Flame Jutsu_, which meant I was stuck with only minor attacks.

"_Sand Shuriken!_" Gaara waved his Shukaku arm at me, which fired three _Sand Shuriken_. The _Shuriken_ traveled much faster than before, which threw me off guard, and when they hit, I realized they hit a lot harder as well. I was thrown off my feet and flew five feet away before hitting the ground again and sliding ten more feet. Blood was dripping down from my mouth from the impact from the _Sand Shuriken_, and I was panting heavily, the wind having been knocked out of me. "As you can see, I'm much stronger in my Shukaku form, I can shoot _Shuriken_ much faster and much harder than before, and I am also physically stronger; the Shukaku's chakra enhances my strength tenfold. I could break your spinal cord in half with a flick of the wrist," Gaara informed me.

"Tch, great," I said as hope of winning this fight seemed to dwindle with every passing second.

"_Sand Shuriken!_" He waved his arm at me, shooting another round of _Shuriken_, but I rolled out of the way, got to my feet, and jumped off, intending to put some distance between Gaara and myself. I landed on the wall and ran across it, making hand signs along the way. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired off twenty tiny fireballs at Gaara, who conjured a wall of sand to intercept them. When the flames cleared off the wall, Gaara waved his hand, and the wall erupted into fifty or so _Sand Shuriken_ that all shot through the air, homing in on me from every direction and blocking my escape routes. "_Wind Style: Giant Air Shield!_" The air around me condensed into a twenty-foot-radius shield that blew away all the _Shuriken_ and left me with very little chakra left. All of Gaara's sand returned to him, allowing me to breathe for the moment, or at least that's what I thought. The ground below me exploded, and five arms made of sand shot out, taking me by surprise and impairing my reflexes.

Only at the last moment did I register what was happening, and I jumped out of the way, and the sand-arms followed me, trying to grab me at any body-part it could reach. I pulled out a kunai and slashed the hands off of each of them, but they just re-grew and attacked me again. I began to wonder where he had gotten so much sand, but then I remembered Kakashi saying something about him being able to send his chakra into the ground to break down minerals in the ground and turn them into sand as well. I eventually couldn't hold them off any longer, and one of them grabbed my arm holding the kunai, which opened the way for the rest to grab me around the other arm and torso. The arms drove me down and smashed me into the ground, bringing up dust and nearly breaking my back, and then retreated back to Gaara to await my next move.

"_Fire Style: Ember Shot!_" I fired a single small ball of fire straight up into the air, which set fifty feet up and exploded, sending a dozen smaller fireballs throughout the arena, bringing up dust, knocking out walls, and forcing Gaara to jump out of the way. I came up from behind him with my fist raised, but he saw me and spun around, his arm landing in my stomach and knocking me back into the wall. Three shuriken landed in his back, and my _Shadow Clone_, which he had just knocked into the wall, disappeared in a puff of smoke. The dust from the sand-arms smashing me into the ground cleared and I stood there, blood dripping out of my mouth, and my shoulder, which had been cut open from the impact. I didn't take my eyes off of Gaara, who swung his arm and shot three more _Sand Shuriken_ at me.

I pulled out a kunai and managed to block two of them, while the third flew harmlessly passed me, and I was pushed back a couple feet by the force of the _Shuriken_. The ground then exploded at my feet, sending me flying into the air, and giving Gaara the opening he needed to land a single _Sand Shuriken_ in my stomach, sending me flying back and slamming me into the wall. I slid back to the ground, barely conscious, and figured this was it for me. I had certainly gotten farther than I had planned on, I figured he would have beaten me long before he needed Shukaku. I laughed at myself, remembering how I had watched Shino Aburame fight Kinoa Hakuro, and how when Shino had won, I had been afraid of having to fight him. And then, he had lost so easily to Gaara's Shukaku form, having been done in by one blow.

That paled in comparison to everything I had endured, not to mention what he had done to me before using his Shukaku form. There was no debating the fact that I was definitely a lot stronger now than when I first arrived in the Leaf, or even in the preliminaries. If Kakashi hadn't have taught me _Chidori_, I would have never beaten Koruki, and I certainly would not have gotten as far as I did with Gaara. I couldn't help but think that I wanted a rematch with Hinata Hyuga; I knew I could beat her now, even with her needle jutsu. I had also wanted to fight Naruto. Everywhere I went around the village, I heard people talking about him. They all worshipped him like a hero, and said he was going to become a great Hokage one day.

"_Naruto, I could tell by the look in your eyes when we were searching for Sasuke Uchiha, you really wanted to bring him back, even though he went rogue of his own accord. Well, if you ever need some help, I'll be right by your side."_

Oh, yeah.… I had almost forgotten my promise to Naruto to help bring Sasuke back. If I was going to fight someone strong enough to beat Naruto, I couldn't give up here. Gaara waved his arm at me, firing a giant _Sand Shuriken _at me, which landed square in my gut. I was engulfed in a puff of smoke and came out a log that had been snapped in two. I came up from behind Gaara, taking him off guard and by surprise.

"_Hey, Naruto, where did you come up with that _Naruto Uzumaki Barrage_ thing?" It was in the middle of Kankuro's fight with Amachi Lee, and I was looking at him curiously. _

"_Oh, yeah, I've got a whole slue of made-up techniques like that, but I won't bore ya' by naming them all off. Oh! But there is one little trick you're gonna need if you have any intention of beating Gaara."_

I had my kunai aimed at Gaara, who had just now noticed me, but it was too late for him to do anything. "From the Naruto Uzumaki Ninja Handbook!" I yelled, five feet away from Gaara, and I landed the kunai square in the tail-root. "_A Thousand Years of Death!_"

[Tsunade's point-of-view] "Hm? What kind of a technique is that? I know Kakashi didn't teach him _that_," I said, looking down at the boy's teacher with skeptic interest.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "Of all the jutsu in his arsenal, he uses _that_ unorthodox technique? That's something I'd expect from Naruto. Hm. Kid probably suggested it to him."

[Naruto's point-of-view] "There ya' go!" I said quietly, impressed that he had actually taken my advice.

[Matt's point-of-view] Gaara swung his arm around, and I jumped back and crossed my arms, blocking the full brunt of it, but still getting sent flying back. Not until it was too late did Gaara notice the three paper-bombs attached to the handle of the kunai with tripwire. The explosion shook the whole arena, and only with a _Wind Style: Air Shield_ was I able to survive it, albeit thrown back into the wall and regaining the sensation that my back was broken. It took almost thirty seconds for the explosion to die down, and then another minute for the smoke to clear. When it did, I was pleased to see that Gaara was in very bad shape. The sand that formed the Shukaku arm and tail was hanging around him like a massive cobweb, and the half of his body that hadn't been enveloped by Shukaku was severely cracked and falling off.

I looked at the expression on his face and saw not pure anger, but a smile, like he was impressed that I had managed to do that to him. Heck, I was amazed at myself that I had managed to do so much damage with a single move. "Okay, kid, I was going easy on you before, but no more. If I intend to win this, I must use all of my power." His sand started swirling around him, reforming his limbs and refining them, making them bigger and stronger than before. But also, the sand covered the right side of his body, giving him two huge arms to go with a body almost twice the size of a normal human's, and eyes that showed true strength in them. However, they also showed exhaustion, which meant with a few well-timed hits, I could bring him down.

Gaara charged me with his fully-transformed body, and I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew the huge fireball at him, but he charged right through it like it was nothing, his sand probably protecting him. I jumped into the air before he got to me, and landed on the wall near the top. Gaara stopped right at the wall, and waved both of his arms at me, firing off seven _Sand Shuriken_ that I jumped out of the way of. The _Shuriken_ came back around and came after me again, followed by a _Sand Shower_ of needles fired off by Gaara from below. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured a single clone, which grabbed me by the arm and threw me out of the way while he took all of the attacks. All of the sand shot out of the smoke from the clone disappearing, and condensed into a giant hand that rammed into me and drove me into the wall, planting its fingers into it and trapping me there.

Gaara fired off three _Sand Shuriken_, and the sand-hand was too strong for me to get out of. Luckily for me, my hands were free to make hand signs. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured another clone, which stood on the wall above me, and then I cast a _Substitution Jutsu_, switching me with the clone, so that he was trapped in the hand, and blasted with _Sand Shuriken_, while I was free to get out of the way. The hand on the wall exploded into fifteen _Sand Shuriken_, and I cast another _Substitution Jutsu_, which put me on the ground near the wall while the _Shuriken _tore apart the log I had switched with. I was barely able to stand, and Gaara was kneeling, both of us panting heavily from lack of chakra. Both of us knew just as well as the other that this had come down to a battle of whoever ran out of energy first. I super-sped around behind and above him, landing my heel in his collar bone, but he shook it off and landed his arm in my side, sending me flying and smashing into the wall.

I threw three shuriken at him, but he knocked them out of the air with his arm and fired off three _Sand Shuriken_ at me, which I super-sped to the side of. I charged him head on with my fist raised, and when I was five-feet from him and about an inch from his intercepting arm, I super-sped behind him and landed my kunai in him. I was dizzy from exhaustion and my vision was blurry, so I couldn't tell where I had hit him until he landed on his knees. My kunai was sticking out of his collar bone…I had accidentally killed him. No, I hadn't killed him; I hadn't pierced deep enough to hit anything vital, the Shukaku's sand made sure of that. As it was, Gaara wrenched the kunai out and threw it aside, then dropped to the ground, and his sand fell off him, his Shukaku form fading and reverting him back to his original state.

Blood pooled on the ground from the wound in his neck, and he didn't move again, probably more from lack of chakra than from the knife. "All right, the winner…is Matt Withau!" The crowd erupted into cheers, but it all sounded a million miles away to me. The moment Genma had concluded the match, I keeled over and passed out.


	39. Chapter 39: LongAwaited Match

Author's Note: I'm pretty sure this is the fight that everyone has been waiting for from the original series. I know I have. Anyway, here's my own rendition of what I think it would have looked like, at least in Part 1. I hope you all will read and enjoy it.

LONG-AWAITED MATCH

[Naruto's point-of-view] "All right!" I jumped straight from the stands into the arena and ran to the center, ready for my fight with Lee.

"Wait, hold on. There's something I need to tell you," Genma said with a grim tone.

"Oh no, what is it?" I asked, expecting the worst.

"Well, it's just that-"

"HOLD ON!" My jaw dropped as Lee ran into the arena and jumped up, then landed right in front of me. He then took his signature battle position of placing one arm behind his back while his other was out in front of him, fingers pointed directly upwards. It was more than obvious that he had not even begun to recover from his fight with Sarura, but it came as no surprise to me that he was here, still bloody and bruised, but ready to fight. I took a fighting stance of my own and waited for Genma to start the match.

"Alright, since both competitors are here, let the match…BEGIN!"

"_Leaf Hurricane!_" Lee jumped forward and spun around, his leg outstretched, but I jumped back out of the way and let him land where I had been standing. When I landed, he had charged me and aimed his fist at me, but I caught it and threw it aside, then swept his feet out from under him. I thought I had him, but it turned out he had me. He landed on his hands and landed his foot in my bottom jaw, knocking me up and sending me floating into the air, giving Lee plenty of room to jump back to his feet and kick me in the stomach and send me rolling across the ground twenty feet away. I got to my knees and saw Lee had jumped up, his leg stretched out in front of him and diving on top of me. I jumped back, and he landed, then got back to his feet and charged me. I tried to punch him, but he threw my fist aside and landed his own fist in my stomach, then spun around and landed his foot in my bottom jaw.

I was sent floating into the air, and he then backhanded me in the face, sending me spiraling a few more feet and then rolling across the ground into the wall. I finally got my senses back just in time to see Lee in the air with his foot pointed down at me, about to land right on top of me. I rolled out of the way and jumped back, and Lee ran over to me and was right on top of me when I landed, landing his knee in my stomach. I backed into the wall, trying to get away from Lee, but he charged me again and landed his fist in my stomach, making me spit out blood and drop to the ground. "Come on, Naruto, is this really all you have? I honestly expected a better fight from the one who defeated Neji twice," Lee said to me, knowing just as well as I did that that would be enough to entice me to fight. I jumped to my feet and aimed my fist at his chin, but he backed out of the way and waited for my next move.

I charged him with my other fist, but he threw it aside, giving me room to land the side of my other fist in the side of his face, which knocked him off balance and he fell to the ground. I jumped back to avoid any counterattacks by him, and waited for him to get back to his feet. He did and immediately charged me, and I pulled out a kunai to defend myself with. I jumped over him and he almost ran straight into the wall, but stopped right in front of it and jumped up after me with his fist raised. I tried to block it with my knife, but he sent it flying out of my hand, then sent me flying into the ground with a kick into the stomach. He landed ten feet away from me and waited for me to get back to my feet, and I did so and charged.

I swung my fist, but he ducked out of the way of it, so I tried to kick him, but he jumped back, landing five feet away. I charged him with my fist, but he threw it aside and landed his elbow in my stomach, making me spit out blood and leave him free to kick me in the stomach and send me stumbling back five feet before he performed another _Leaf Hurricane_, which landed in my collar bone and sent me rolling across the ground, coming to a stop fifteen feet away. I got to a kneeling position and threw three shuriken, but he blocked them all with a kunai and charged me again. I ducked his first slash, and tried to land my fist in his stomach, but he blocked it with his knife and landed his own leg in my stomach, sending me rolling back and smacking into the wall.

I rolled out of the way of his incoming fist, which landed in the wall, and got to my feet and made a hand sign. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Two clones appeared right behind Lee, who grabbed him by the arms and tried to toss him through the air, but Lee got the better of them, kicking them both in the guts, making them disappear. The distraction caused by the clones left me plenty of room to sneak in and land my fist in his face, knocking him back a few steps, but he quickly recovered and landed his fist in my stomach when I charged him again. He then jumped up, planted one foot on my chest without actually kicking me, then spun around and landed his other foot in the exact same spot, sending me flying back and smacking against the wall again.

I looked up at him and saw that he was panting just as heavily as I was. It was now more obvious as ever that he had not recovered from his last fight, and I was going to use that to my advantage. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured up ten clones all around me, who all drew out kunai and charged. Lee waited for them to come, and then gave a full demonstration of his taijutsu talent. He landed his fist in one, foot in a second, jumped up, and landed both feet in two more. All four disappeared, leaving six more. He grabbed the arm of one who had lunged his knife forward and landed his elbow in his face, then took the kunai and landed it in another clone right in front of him. He jumped and back-flipped over two more clones, landed both feet in their shoulders, and dropped behind them to watch them disappear as well.

The final two clones took him from either side, but he grabbed both their arms and drove their kunai into each other, and disappeared along with the others, leaving me alone and nearly defenseless…nearly. "_Rasengan!_" I charged forward with my jutsu, premature due to the fact that I couldn't form a full-blown one on my own without a clone, and also because of the fact that Lee was my friend, and I wasn't intending on hurting him. I landed the _Rasengan_ in Lee's side, blasting him backward with a huge tear in his shirt from the impact that was shaped like a spiral, and he was blasted back five feet and landed on the ground with his hand over his side.

"Ugh, ow!" he said, his eyes closed in pain. I was doubled over, coughing up blood onto the ground from all the times Lee had hit me in the stomach, and I was afraid one of my organs might have been ruptured by all of the impacts. I finally managed to get a hold of myself, and waited for Lee to get back to his feet, which he did rather slowly, but when he was finally ready, I charged him with my fist raised. He just barely managed to throw it aside, and then tried to land his own fist in my stomach, but I caught it just in time and pushed him back. He immediately recovered and charged me with his fist raised, but I caught it and landed my foot in his stomach, then jumped back to avoid any counterattacks he had planned. I threw three shuriken at him, but he jumped out of the way and said, "_Dynamic Entry!_"

He dove down on top of me with his leg outstretched. I jumped up and landed on the wall, sliding up it due to the momentum gained from the jump, then made a hand sign and conjured two _Shadow Clones_, one on either side of me. They both dived down at Lee, who knocked them aside like they were nothing, and jumped up after me with his fist raised. I dropped just before he hit me and landed on the ground, and Lee dropped after me, but I backed out of the way, so he landed where I had been standing a second before. He jumped up and span through the air, landing his foot in my stomach and sending me flying back, then rolling across the ground to the center of the arena.

I immediately got back to my feet, and through sheer reflexes alone did I manage to trip up Lee and land my fist in his face, knocking him back and giving me time to catch my breath. Lee got back to his feet and tried to charge me again, but had to stop short to avoid the kunai that I landed at his feet. He ran over the kunai and aimed his fist at me, but I caught it and ducked around him, then jumped out of the way of his kick that would have knocked me off my feet otherwise. I threw another kunai down at him, but he knocked it away with a knife of his own and threw it up at me. I barely managed to drop out of the way of it and land at the base of the wall, and Lee charged me with his fist raised, catching me by surprise and off guard.

"Gah!" The back of my head slammed against the wall of the arena, cracking it open and staining the wall with blood, as I slid to a sitting position on the ground. Lee took the time to catch his breath, doubled over in exhaustion, while I wiped the blood from the back of my head and slowly got back to my feet, ready to finish this. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured three _Shadow Clones_, two of which charged Lee while I held my hand out to the other. Lee saw them coming just in time and landed both fists in both faces, obliterating them like they were nothing. "_Rasengan!_" I landed the _Rasengan_ in his gut, sending him spiraling away and smashing into the wall, and bringing some of it down on top of him. My clone disappeared, and only then had I realized that I had not put enough chakra into the _Rasengan_.

My intention had been to get Lee right after he destroyed the _Shadow Clones_, which I accomplished, but I had not finished charging up with it. As a result, it had been just another premature one, albeit much less so, as it did much more damage than last time. As it was, Lee punched his way out of the rubble with half his shirt ripped off and blood draining from his mouth, but still ready to fight. "It does not remotely surprise me that I need to remove these for you, Naruto," he said to me, and he grabbed something down near his feet, which were concealed in rubble. It did not take me long to figure out what it was. He came back out of the rubble with his leg weights in either hand, held out to either side of him.

He threw them into the arena wall behind him, collapsing ten feet of it, and he disappeared in a burst of speed. I didn't even have time to register that I was dead before Lee smashed into me, blasting me back into the wall and collapsing it as well. Before I even knew what had happened, Lee sped into me, blasting dust all over the place, and tossing me across the arena, landing me towards the other end. I rolled across the ground, and when I could finally stop myself, I wiped blood from my lip and looked at Lee. He was as confident as ever, and I was as nervous as ever. If I couldn't find a way to slow him down by at least a little, there was no way I could win this match.


	40. Chapter 40: Naruto Cornered

NARUTO CORNERED

Lee threw me across the arena, landing me almost at the other side, and I realized that if I didn't find a way to slow him down, I had no way of winning this match. I got slowly back to my feet and waited for Lee to charge, who did so and smashed me into the wall behind me, nearly knocking me unconscious. He backed up to near the center of the arena and waited for me to get back to my feet, and when I did, he charged me again. Sick of being pounded into the dirt, I caught his fist, the impact of which sent a shockwave throughout the arena that didn't do any physical damage, but portrayed perfectly the strength of Lee's blow. He seemed every bit as surprised as I was that I had actually managed to catch that, but it didn't take me long to figure out hoe I had accomplished it.

I raised my head, which had been facing down when I had caught him, and looked into his eyes, and he gasped, and said, "What the-?" I knew from experience with this sudden power that my eyes had changed; they were no longer their regular blue, they were crimson slits. I summoned all the strength I could muster and pushed him back, sending him rolling across the arena and into the wall, and charged him without hesitation. He was just getting back to his feet when I was on top of him, and I landed my fist in his face, then my other fist, then I spun around and landed the back of my hand in his jaw, sending him flying back and smashing into the wall.

He raised his head out of the dust, just in time to see me barreling down on top of him with my fist raised, and I smashed into him, blasting up more dust all around us. Lee jumped out of the dust cloud, completely helpless against my newfound power, and I leaped out after him, landing my fist in his face once more and sending him smashing into the ground, bringing up more dust. I landed about ten feet away from him, and when the dust finally cleared, he was on his feet, shaking in pain, but still standing strong. "I don't know where you came across such power, Naruto, but if you think that it will beat me, you had better think again! _First Gate, Gate of Opening: Open!_"

His muscles grew and veins pulsed, and I braced myself for a fight that was going to literally tear apart the arena, much more so than it already was. We both charged at the same time, our speed blasting up dust where we had been standing. We connected fists at the center of the arena, which caused a shockwave that punched a crater in the ground, and we both jumped back and landed on opposite sides of the arena, then charged again. Lee jumped through the air and stretched his foot out, ready to take my head off with it. I ducked under him and let him fly passed me, then jumped on top of him and landed my fist in his face. Blood spattered across the ground from his mouth, and I grabbed his arm and spun him around, then threw him into the wall of the arena.

He regained his balance and landed on the wall, then leaped off, his strength making it collapse, and I prepared myself for his attack. I caught his fist and threw it up, then landed the back of my own fist in his stomach, driving him up over my head, and I spun around and kicked him in the exact same spot, and dragged him with my foot, throwing him to the other side of the arena. He landed perfectly on his feet again and charged me at light speed, but I hadn't seen it coming, so he smashed into me and drove me across the arena and smashed me into the wall, and with the help of all the rest of the damage, made almost a quarter of it collapse on top of me. I burst out of the rubble and charged Lee, driving him across the arena and bringing another quarter of it down on top of him.

I held him pinned to the ground to keep him from counterattacking, which proved to be a big mistake as he kicked me in the stomach, and with his increased strength, sent me flying all the way across the arena. I landed in the wreckage that I had caused when Lee slammed me into the wall, which only brought more of it down on top of me, but I quickly jumped out and flew straight up into the air to better look out for Lee's attacks. What I didn't notice was that Lee had already planned ahead and was now above me with his fist raised, ready to drive me back to the ground. I crossed my arms to block him, and managed to defend against the full brunt of it, but the force of Lee's attack still sent me flying into the ground.

We hit hard, which meant we brought up dust, but I kicked Lee out of it and charged him with my fist raised. Out of reflex, he intercepted me with his knee, then landed his hands on the ground and spun around, landing his foot in my chin and sending me flying up into the air. He appeared right below me, performing a _Dancing Leaf Shadow_, and it didn't take me long to figure out what was about to happen next. I spun around and landed the back of my fist into his hands, which he had brought up to defend himself, and then landed my other fist in the exact same spot, sending him smashing into the ground, and blasting dust ten feet around him. I flew to about thirty feet behind him and landed, then turned around and fired off three shuriken at him before the dust had even cleared.

"_Second Gate, Gate of Rest: Open!_" A shockwave blasted the dust and shuriken away, and Lee's muscles were even bigger, and more veins pulsed, and I was in as much danger as ever. In the blink of an eye, Lee charged me and kicked me a hundred feet into the air, then jumped up after me with his fist raised. His fist became engulfed in chakra, and I knew I was in trouble. "_Breaker Lotus!_" His fist landed in my gut and a shockwave of chakra blasted through the air, while the force of his attack sent blood pouring out of my mouth. I had to guess most of my ribs were shattered, but Lee spun around and landed his foot in my stomach, knocking me back into the ground, blasting up a cloud of dust. The dust cleared, and I was embedded into the ground, barely able to move.

Lee landed, and held firm for about a second until collapsing to the ground in pain. I saw my chance and got back to my feet, still barely able to move from being pounded so hard. I could tell my eyes were back to normal as I pulled out a kunai and walked toward Lee, who was still on the ground, coughing in agony and gasping for breath. I got to him, one move away, but I stopped myself. I realized that I had won the match, and turned around and walked away. "Alright," said Genma, "The winner of this match is…why am I not surprised?" I had a pretty good feeling I knew what he was talking about as I turned around to find Lee on his feet, taken up a fighting stance, ready for more.

"Naruto…it will take…so much more…to beat me…then you could ever imagine!" he panted. He then charged me head-on. "_Dynamic Entry!_" He jumped and dived on top of me with his leg outstretched, and I intercepted it with my kunai, and threw him aside and jumped away. I landed at the base of the wall, or what was left of it, and resisted the temptation to sit down. It looked like Lee was resisting the same temptation, as he was panting just as heavily as I was, which meant he was under the sensation that he had just finished being held by the throat.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured up a dozen _Shadow Clones_ all around me, my chakra and stamina wouldn't permit anymore, and they all pulled out kunai and charged. "Oh, come on," Lee said desperately as he waited for the clones to get to him. He jumped in the air and kicked the kunai out of the hand of one, knocked him up into the air with his other foot, landed, and beat him into another one. He then tripped up two more with a single swipe of his foot, and got under them, then kicked them both into the air. He grabbed the leg of one of those two, and swung it in a complete circle around him, destroying two more and throwing him into a third.

He grabbed the second that he had kicked and landed his foot in his stomach, making him disappear with the rest, the accumulated smoke from which shrouded the entire scene. In order to accommodate for this handicap, Lee made a spectacular leap straight up into the air, leveling out at twenty feet. A dozen kunai shot out of the smoke straight up at Lee, who had no way of dodging them. He pulled out two of his own kunai and managed to defend all of his vital spots, but still took one to the gut and the thigh, and was grazed by all the rest. Blood spattered the ground right on top of me, dropping on my face and torso, as Lee fell back to Earth, right on top of me as well. "_Rasengan!_"

I formed a _Rasengan_ on my own, which meant it was premature, and when Lee got to me, I landed it in his back, which sent him spiraling into the air with a gaping hole in the back of his shirt, and he landed thirty feet away, tumbling across the ground another ten feet. I dropped to my knee, about ready to pass out from exhaustion, while Lee laid on the ground, panting every bit as heavily as me. "Alright, I've seen enough," said Genma, "I'm calling this match a dr-"

"NO!" We both spoke at the same time, I was on my feet, and Lee was on his knee, both looking at each other with the will to go on.

Genma chuckled in amusement and said, "It's okay; both of you have made chunin, there's no reason to keep putting yourself through this. It would be better on the both of you if I called the match a draw and let you rest."

"This is about more than just becoming a chunin!" I said to him with a smile on my face while still looking at Lee.

Lee smiled as well when he said, "We don't care rather we become chunin or not, that means nothing to the both of us! Our priority is to fight each other to see which of us is stronger!"

"Hah! Exactly! Who cares if we're chunin now, we wanna see which of the two of us is better!" I said to Genma.

He smiled in a amusement again and shook his head, but said, "Alright, this match is still on, so let's see some action!"

"Haagh!" we both charged at the same time with our fists raised, both ready to give each other everything we had. Lee retracted his fist and dodged mine, barrel-rolling to the right and kicking my feet out from under me. H flipped onto his hands, and then dropped down, landing his foot in my stomach and pinning me to the ground. I knocked his foot off of me and got back to my feet, jumping back to avoid any counterattacks from Lee, who did the exact same thing. We both threw shuriken at each other, and both dodged the other's shuriken, and charged each other with our fists raised. We connected at the center of the arena, cracking our knuckles open, but not flinching even slightly. Lee ducked around my fist, spun around, and back-handed me in the stomach, then landed his foot in my chest, sending me flying and landing near the wall.

I slowly got back to my feet and wiped blood from my lip, while Lee stood there, panting only mildly while I was still gasping for air. Now more than ever, if I couldn't beat him soon, I was in trouble.


	41. Chapter 41: Failures Exceed

FAILURES EXCEED

I got back to my feet and pulled out a kunai, knowing full well that if I didn't end this match soon, I was in a whole lot of trouble. Lee charged me, still slow from having been beaten so bad by the two Gates that he opened, but still able to keep a good pace. I just barely able managed to catch his fist, and the force of it came within about a centimeter of knocking into my nose, but I held it firm and threw it aside, then threw my own fist at his gut. He jumped out of the way, and before he got out of range, landed his foot in my chin, which knocked me off balance and onto the ground. I immediately got back to my feet to counter any further attacks from Lee, but found out I could have laid down for a little while longer, as Lee had backed up to the other side of the arena to avoid any attacks from me.

I threw a kunai at him, but he moved out of the way and charged me with his fist raised, and I held out my hands, ready to intercept him. I caught his fist, but he threw my hand aside and ducked under my guard, wrapping his hands around my waist, and picked me up, driving me across the arena and slamming me into a wall, making me spit out blood on impact. Lee backed up so I couldn't sneak in a surprise attack, so I was forced to stick with a _Shadow Clone Jutsu_ and see where that got me. I conjured up three clones that all charged Lee with their bare fists, considering I was running out of weapons. Lee knocked away the fist of one and landed his own in his stomach, then jumped up, kicked the other two, and sent the first into the both of them so that they all disappeared in one big puff of smoke.

"Hah!" I took him by surprise and managed to land my fist in his face, knocking him back, and off his feet, landing on his side with blood coming out of his mouth. I stood there, panting in exhaustion and lack of chakra, but still ready to go a few more rounds, until I finally beat him. Lee got back to his feet and took his fighting stance, ready for more as well. We both charged at the same time, both with our fists raised, and would have punched each other in the face, but Lee tricked me and ducked around me, and landed his fist in my face without me landing mine in his. I staggered backwards a few steps, but immediately recovered and tripped him up, but he landed on his hands and back-flipped onto his feet, landing his own foot in my chin along the way, and jumped back to avoid any counterattacks from me.

I got back to my feet and immediately charged Lee, who raised his arms to counter me. I aimed my fist at his stomach, but he caught it and landed his foot in my stomach, sending me flying back and smacking into the wall of the arena. I got back to my feet and barrel-rolled out of the way of Lee, who had charged me, and intended to slam me into the wall again, but instead almost ran straight into the wall himself. The instant he stopped, I jumped up and landed my fist in his cheek, knocking him off balance, but he quickly regained it and landed his own fist in my face, knocking me straight to the ground, and he jumped up and tried to land on top of me, but I back-flipped out of the way and back to my feet, and then jumped back to avoid any further attacks by him.

He immediately charged after me, and I knew I couldn't outrun him, which meant I would just have to try and take him. I jumped down on top of him from the wall of the arena, but Lee was ready for me, as he stopped dead in his tracks and jumped out of the way, letting me smash into the ground where he had been standing. I charged out of the dust with my fist raised, and Lee charged me with his own fist raised, but he jumped over me and tried to land his foot in my back, but I blocked it, and when he landed, charged him with my fist. He caught it and threw it aside, and I tried to land my other fist in him, but he caught that and tripped me up, making me fall to the ground and nearly crack my head open.

I rolled out of the way of Lee's foot, which had tried to stomp on my stomach, and I then tried to trip him up, but he jumped, back-flipped, and jumped away. I took this time to get back to my feet and take a breather, while Lee did the exact same thing. A few seconds later, we both charged each other again with our fists raised. This time, we both tricked each other, barreling to opposite sides, then jumped back and threw kunai at each other. The knives collided in midair and bounced off each other, each sticking in the ground. I landed and charged, and Lee did the same thing, and we both picked up our knives off the ground along the way. We exchanged blades a few times, but then I got the better of Lee and ran my blade across his hand, making him drop his knife. Before I could do any more damage to him, he jumped away and landed towards the edge of the arena.

I picked up his kunai and threw it at him, but he sidestepped it and caught it by the handle just before it flew passed and charged me with it, despite the blood dripping from his hand. He put on a burst of speed, and when he was within five feet of me, disappeared in a burst of speed, catching me by surprise and making me lower my guard. He appeared on the ground right in front of me and sent his foot into my chin, sending me flying up into the air, unable to counter what I knew was coming next. Lee appeared right below me with his arms outstretched, and the bandages on his arms unfurled, flowing to his sides, and he swung them around and wrapped the around me, pinning my arms to my sides and making me unable to move.

He grabbed me around the waist and pointed me downwards, spinning me around him like a drill, and yelled, "_Primary Lotus!_" He smashed me headfirst into the ground, blasting dust ten feet around, while he jumped off and landed safely outside. The dust cleared and I was on my feet, alive and well without a single injury from that attack. A few red bubbles around my body popped, and I knew Lee had noticed, but he didn't say anything, he just stared in amazement that I was still able to fight.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Five clones appeared around me, and I stepped back while four of them charged. Lee quickly beat them all back and looked back at the real me, but it was too late. "_Rasengan!_" I landed the spiraling ball of chakra into his stomach, and it fired from my hand, driving Lee back, spiraling the whole way, and smashed him into one of the remnants of the wall, bringing the entire thing down on top of him. After about a minute of nothing happening, I began to wonder if he was hurt or worse, but he finally punched his way out of the rubble and got to his feet, wiped blood from his chin and took his fighting stance. My clone charged him, but Lee tripped him up and landed his fist in his stomach, making him disappear in a puff of smoke.

I was next, as I had charged directly behind the clone, and burst through the smoke and landed my fist in his jaw. He had been taken by surprise, but quickly got over it as he caught my next fist, said "_Leaf Whirlwind!_" and tripped me up, making me land on my back, and he then kicked me in the rib cage, sending me rolling back into the arena with blood coming out of my mouth. I got back to my feet and saw Lee charging me, and I was too exhausted to do anything about it.

"Gah!" I flew back and slid across the ground, my blood spattering the arena from my mouth, while Lee doubled over and gasped for air, leaving me to gasp for air myself. I finally got to my feet, and Lee straightened up, and we both prepared to finish this fight once and for all. We both charged each other and threw our fists at each other, but Lee ducked mine and tried to trip me up. I jumped him and back-flipped out of the way, leaving Lee open to charge me, wrap his arms around my waist, and drive me across the arena, smashing me into the only piece of wall left standing. While on the ground, I landed my foot in his stomach, sending him stumbling back, and got back to my feet. I then tackled him, bringing him to the ground, and I immediately got back up to avoid any counterattacks from him.

He got back to his feet right after me and jumped into the air, spinning towards me with his leg outstretched. "_Leaf Hurricane!_" I tried to block it, but he broke straight through my guard and landed his foot in my face, sending me flying and landing in the pile of rubble at the edge of the arena. I got back to my feet and ran around him, not really feeling like getting blasted back into the painful rocks again, and Lee watched me for a second, but then disappeared in a burst of speed and appeared right in front of me, landing his fist right in my face. I went flying back, landing my face in the rocks and cracking my head open, while Lee waited for me to get back to my feet.

I rose to a sitting position and looked at Lee, and gasped. Lee's hand was clenched over his heart, gasping in pain with blood coming out of his mouth. He dropped to the ground, and medical ninja rushed in to take a look at him. One of them used his hand to examine the area around Lee's heart. "Great! That last spurt of speed tore a cardiac muscle. He's in no immediate danger, but if we don't do something immediately, that could very easily change," the medical ninja reported. I smiled, not even a little surprised that Lee had managed to tear a heart muscle.

The medical ninja hoisted him onto a stretcher and hauled him off, while Genma came into the center of the arena and said, "Alright, the winner of the final match of the semi-finals is Naruto Uzumaki! And with the conclusion of the semi-final round, it's time to move on to the final mat-"

Someone appeared at Genma's side, and began whispering in his ear. He was one of the people who stood next to Grandma Tsunade up in the judges' stand, Raido, I think his name was. Raido went back up to the judges' stand, and Genma spoke to the audience.

"Alright, due to numerous circumstances, the final match is being postponed. My eyes widened at these words. "The main reason for this is to give the competing contestants time to recover from their previous matches, and get them in top form for the fight. And so, the final match will take place exactly one hour from now. You may use this time to take a bathroom brake, get concessions, you may even wander the village if you wish. Mind you, that if you choose to do so, you will need your tickets to gain reentry into the arena. In the meantime, you may do as you wish."

Half the audience got up and filed towards the exits while the other half stayed in their seats, waiting for the final match, every one of them talking about the matches. The two names I heard come up most frequently were Matt and Hatsuji. I heard someone jump down behind me and turned around. "Kakashi-sensei!" I said, running over to him. Usually, whenever Kakashi-sensei came near me, he was there to speak to someone else; I just happened to be in the area.

But this time, he stopped when I came to him, and said, "Those were some matches, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," I said enthusiastically, "You did an _amazing_ job with Matt. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him whip out that _Chidori_!" I said, flashing back to the first time he had unveiled the jutsu.

"Yeah. That kid reminds me so much of Sasuke, it's a little disturbing," Kakashi said as he looked toward the medical ward. I looked around and saw who he was talking about. Matt had fought his way through the crowd and was walking over to us.

[Matt's point-of-view] "Hey!" Naruto said excitedly, running over to me and raising his hand. I was still haunted by my matches, so I flinched whenever he raised his hand, afraid he was going to hit me.

"Oh," I said, not really caring that I had made a stupid mistake, and high-fived him. "So, who all's in the final matches? And how are they gonna set this up? Is it just gonna be a three-way battle, or what?" I asked.

"It's me, you, and Hatsuji, and they didn't really say how they were gonna do this. I guess we'll find out soon," Naruto answered, and he then turned around and headed for the bleachers.

Kakashi walked around behind me and whispered into my ear so that Naruto couldn't hear.

I smiled at what he said and whispered back, and then we both went over to the bleachers. I looked up at the judges' stand, and saw the judges discussing the arena, which was in desperate need of repair.

"Why don't you leave this to me?" Ibiki said, and he made some hand signs. "_Ninja Art: Damage Reparation Jutsu!_" He held his hands out to the arena, and all of the fallen rubble floated into the air, and reformed the wall, slowly coming back to perfection without a single scratch in it. The craters in the ground closed up, leaving the ground good as new as well. I was only mildly impressed by this, which really showed that I was beginning to fit in. A year ago my jaw would have dropped, and I would have been in complete disbelief.

Kakashi, Naruto and I began talking about all that had happened for the next hour, and when the intermission was over, and the audience had filed back into the arena, Hatsuji, Naruto, Genma and I all went into the arena. Hatsuji, Naruto and I all stood in triangular correlation to one another.

"Alright," said Genma, "This will be a three-way match between the remaining candidates: a free-for-all battle. Despite the number of opponents, there are no changes in rules; this is still an anything-goes, full-out battle. And so, let the final match…begin!"


	42. Chapter 42: Looming Darkness

Author's Note: For those of you who like to listen to music while you read, I'm going to give you a piece of advice. Before you start this chapter, go to Youtube and look up Papercut by Linkin Park. While you're listening to that, read this at the same time. It'll help give you a feel of what the mood of the chapter is. Remember: look up the song BEFORE you read.

EDIT: Correction: type in 'Road to Revolution Papercut' and click on the very first video. It's a live video so you'll have to ignore the audience/band commentary.

LOOMING DARKNESS

"Let the final match…begin!"

"Naruto," I said before anyone had even moved, not taking my eyes off of Hatsuji.

"Yeah, what is it?" he answered, his eyes also on Hatsuji.

"You've been paying attention, haven't you…to this guy?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Then you know just as well as I do how strong this guy is. Fact is, neither of us could ever beat him on our own. The only way we can possibly win against him is to team up and take him out together," I said to him, which I truly believed really was the only way to beat him, and that even a team-up still looked iffy.

After a moment, he said, "Yeah…you're right."

"Then a team-up it is," I said, pulling out a kunai and waiting for either Naruto or Hatsuji to make the first move.

"Not that it isn't smart," Hatsuji said with a smug smile, "but if you really think even the both of you can beat me, then you really have no comprehension of my powers. The best thing for you to do would be to give up," he advised us as he just stood there, completely unarmed.

"Huaaah!" Naruto charged with a kunai, and I prepared to back him with whatever would be the most affective. Hatsuji ducked Naruto's first slash, backed out of the way of the second, and jumped over the third, landing behind Naruto. The moment he landed, I threw my kunai at him, but he sidestepped it so that it flew at Naruto instead, who just barely dived out of the way.

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired off twenty tiny fireballs at him, and he just stood there, letting them all hit him. When the flames cleared, there was a black log laying on the ground, which surprised me not even a little bit.

"Behind you!" Naruto yelled. I tried to jump up out of the way, but Hatsuji grabbed my ankle and swung me around, throwing me across the arena and slamming me into the wall. I rose back up into a sitting position and saw Naruto come around behind him with a kunai aimed at the back of his head, but Hatsuji sidestepped it and backed around Naruto, who swung his arm around, but Hatsuji ducked it and landed his foot in Naruto's back, knocking him face-first into the dirt.

"_Water Style: Liquid Bullet!_" I fired off a small ball of water out off my mouth that shot at Hatsuji, who let it hit him and turned into a log that had been cracked in two.

"Come on, boys, I was expecting a somewhat interesting fight, but this has actually been rather dull so far!"

We both looked around and saw him leaning against the judge's stand, on top of the bleachers, looking down at us with a smug smile. I super-sped up to him and came out right in front of him with my fist raised, but he caught it and landed his knee in my stomach, then threw me off the bleachers, landing me in the arena. Naruto had conjured nine clones, five of which threw the other four and himself up at Hatsuji, not unlike ballistic missiles, but Hatsuji jumped in between them and landed in the arena. The clones disappeared and Naruto conjured a single clone while still in the air who threw him back into the arena to join his other five clones, who had surrounded Hatsuji and were waiting to attack.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured five of my own clones, and they, along with Naruto's clones, all charged Hatsuji from every side. Hatsuji just stood there and let them all stab him. When they moved so that we could see him, he was a log with a bunch of knives in it that dropped to the ground. Naruto and I both looked up and saw Hatsuji twenty feet in the air, his hands having formed the Tiger sign.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He blew a giant ball of fire down onto all of the _Shadow Clones_, blowing them all away in one fell swoop. I threw a fire-kunai at him while he was still in the air, but he pulled out a kunai of his own and blocked it, knocking it to the ground where it harmlessly detonated. Hatsuji landed and charged us, making us both raise our knives. He got around Naruto's guard and landed his fist in his stomach, raising him into the air. Hatsuji then retracted his arm, spun around, and landed his foot in the exact same spot, sending Naruto flying twenty feet away and then rolling ten more feet. The moment he had kicked Naruto away, Hatsuji spun around towards me with his arm outstretched, and while I kept my guard up, he got around it like it was nothing and landed the side of his fist in the side of my face. I was knocked to the ground with my jaw feeling like it was broken.

I looked back up at Hatsuji and saw that he was staring down at me with his signature smug smile, that I was really getting sick of seeing. I slowly got back to my feet, prompting him to walk over to me, activate a _Ninja Art: Boulder Breaker_, and smash his fist into me with every ounce of strength he had. I appeared behind him and tried to land a kunai in his back, but he jumped out of the way, and I stabbed thin air. Just before he had hit me, I had super-sped out of the way, so his fist hit solid ground. Now, he was twenty feet in the air, far out of melee reach, but not out of the reach of a _Fire Style_.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired three medium-sized fireballs up at Hatsuji, but he made some hand signs, and when the fireballs hit him, he came out as a burning log. He appeared behind Naruto, tripped him up, and threw him into the wall of the arena. The moment Naruto left Hatsuji's hands, I charged him with my fist raised, but he caught it and tried to land his own fist in my stomach, but I caught it and wrenched my own out of his hand, then jumped away before he could attack me again. Naruto snuck up behind him, but he spun around and landed his foot in Naruto's stomach, sending him flying back and banging right back into the wall again.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired off a huge fireball at him, but he jumped out of the way and fired the same jutsu down at me. I ran out of the way, letting it smash into the ground where I was, and lobbed shuriken up at him, which he dived out of the way of. The moment he landed on the ground, I charged him with my fist raised, but he connected it with his own, making me feel like my knuckles were broken, while he didn't even flinch. He retracted his hand and grabbed my arm with the other one, swinging me around, then spinning around and landing his foot in my stomach, sending me flying back and smacking into the wall.

"_Rasengan!_" Naruto came up from behind with his jutsu, but Hatsuji saw it coming and jumped up and over him, tripping him up when he landed and throwing him into his clone. I charged him from behind with my fist raised, but he ducked it and tried to back around me, but I jumped up and swung my foot at him, making him jump out of the way to avoid getting his teeth knocked out. I jumped up after him while Naruto ran over to where he was going to land to intercept him there, and Hatsuji only seemed to get more amused. Just before he landed, he kicked Naruto back, and when he did land, tripped him up and threw him up into me, knocking me out of the air and sending us both toppling all over each other to the ground.

We untangled ourselves and Naruto immediately charged him while I waited back for a chance to get him off guard. Hatsuji quickly countered Naruto's attack, throwing his fist aside and kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying straight at me so that I had to duck to avoid him. "_Fire Style: Ember Shot!_" I fired a single small ball of fire at him, which he dodged, so it flew towards the edge of the arena and exploded, sending a dozen smaller fireballs in every direction. He threw a kunai at the fireball that was aimed at him so it exploded in midair while the other fireballs smashed harmlessly around the arena. I super-sped up to him while he was still in the air with a kunai aimed at his back, so he was finally caught off guard, and I managed to get him in the back.

The moment I thought I had turned the tide, Hatsuji disappeared in a puff of smoke and came out a log. I heard him appear behind me with his fist raised, and I spun around to block it, but his brute force still sent me flying and smashing into the ground, nearly knocking me unconscious. When the dust cleared, Hatsuji was looking at me, embedded in the ground, with a smug smile on his face. I busted loose of the rubble and got back to my feet, realizing that I would have to go at him from a different angle. Of course how I was supposed to do that was still up in the air, everything we had tried had been thrown right back at us. Naruto walked over to me, not taking his eyes off Hatsuji, while Hatsuji kept his eyes on the both of us, still with a smug smile.

"Has it sunk in yet that you cannot possibly defeat me?" he asked in a tone that matched his expression.

"Well, I guess we're just too damn stubborn to know when to give up, cuz I don't know about Naruto, but I'm not throwing in the towel until I can't move, that's how it's been for me ever since I got here," I said to him with a defiant smile on my face.

"Same here," Naruto said, the both of us taking battle positions.

Hatsuji laughed quietly to himself, and said, "You really don't get it, do you?"

We both charged while he watched us, waiting to counter whatever we had in store for him. Naruto lunged a kunai at him, but he ducked out of the way and tripped him up, sending him crashing to the ground while he jumped out of the way to avoid me diving down on top of him. I threw eight shuriken up at him, all of which hit, but it was just another _Substitution_. Naruto got back to his feet and we both got back-to-back so he couldn't get us from behind and looked around for him, wondering where he would show up next. I finally spotted him on the roof of the bleachers, and this time, it was time for Naruto to stand back while I took him on. I charged over to the wall, jumped onto it, ran up it, and leaped up to the roof where Hatsuji was, who was waiting patiently completely unarmed.

I pulled out a kunai and tried to cut his head off with it, but he ducked it and landed his foot in my stomach, sending me flying back and crashing back into the arena. I got to a kneeling position, and at the same moment, Hatsuji jumped down from the roof, and Naruto ran forward to intercept him while I made some hand signs. Hatsuji landed and Naruto jumped and dived down on top of him, but he jumped up and back-flipped, landing his feet in Naruto's stomach along the way and sending him flying back and crashing to the ground. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a huge fireball out of my mouth at Hatsuji while he was still in the air, but he landed before it got to him, and he jumped out of the way, letting it smash into the wall, chunks of rubble down into the arena.

I super-sped around behind him, and he swung his fist around, but I blocked it, so he grabbed both of my wrists with the same hand while he landed his other fist in my stomach and swung me up over him, and threw me to the ground five feet away from him. The moment I hit the ground, I got back to my feet and jumped back to avoid any further punishment from him. Naruto joined my side, but before we could do anything, Hatsuji made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" He slammed his palm on the ground, and giant rocks sprung up, coming towards us with all the power to run us through. We were forced back in order to avoid them until we finally hit the wall opposite of Hatsuji, Naruto at the base of it, myself standing on it five feet up from the ground.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" An intense burst of flame tore through the field of rocks, igniting some and destroying others, but we hadn't seen it coming until it was too late. The flame hit us directly, completely scorching the wall we were at, and obscuring us in fire. The fire cleared, and when Hatsuji saw us, he seemed much more interested, maybe even a little concerned. Naruto had formed a _Rasengan_ with a _Shadow Clone_, while I had a _Chidori_ surging through my hand.


	43. Chapter 43:What's it Mean to Have Str

I want to take this time to apologize for an error I made; last chapter was supposed to be five more chapters until the Season Two finale. I thought it was supposed to be this chapter but I was wrong; my bad. Anyway, four more chapters until the Season Two finale.

WHAT'S IT MEAN TO HAVE STRENGTH?

Naruto had a _Rasengan_ going with his _Shadow Clone_, while I had a _Chidori_ in my hand. Hatsuji seemed only mildly concerned at some of our most powerful jutsu, and we both charged him at the same time. Naruto went at him first while I moved at a slower pace, ready to hit him when he dodged Naruto. He jumped right over Naruto, so Naruto ran right passed him, and I followed through by super-speeding behind him when he landed and aiming the _Chidori_ at his back. He had seen this coming a mile away, which meant he turned around and grabbed my arm where the _Chidori_ wouldn't touch his hand, and he could keep me from hitting his body.

"You're too predictable, Withau. Are sneak attacks all you know?" Hatsuji asked with a smile.

I cancelled _Chidori_ and tried to knee him in the stomach, but he intercepted it with his own knee and knocked me back with it, so we both jumped back, coming out at opposite ends of the arena. I landed where Naruto stood waiting and now threw a round of shuriken at Hatsuji, who blocked them with a kunai. I super-sped around behind him, airborne and with my leg raised, which I brought down on top of his collar bone. Before I could hit him, he jumped out of the way, where Naruto came at him with a _Rasengan_, which Hatsuji saw just in time to jump back and rain shuriken down on top of him. Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, and I cast a _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu_ up at Hatsuji, who cast a _Fireball Jutsu_ of his own to intercept it and cancel it out.

Hatsuji landed, where Naruto dived on top of him with a kunai, which Hatsuji knocked out of his hand, and then landed the same fist in Naruto's stomach, sending him flying to the edge of the arena. I came up and tackled him from behind football-style, driving him to the ground, but he threw out his hand to save him and landed his foot in my cheek, sending me floating upwards, and leaving him free to get back to his feet, jump up, and land his foot in my stomach, sending me towards the edge of the arena as well. I rose to a sitting position, leaning against the wall, and looked passed Hatsuji over to Naruto, who was already back on his feet.

"Why won't anything we do work on this guy?" I asked, bitterly wishing we had at least touched him.

At the moment, Hatsuji paid more attention to Naruto, who was the bigger threat at the moment, which gave me an idea. I made some hand signs and fired off a single tiny fireball so as not to alert him to my intentions, but when it hit him, he turned into a log.

"You'll have to do better than that." I looked up and saw Hatsuji standing twenty feet above me, not making any kind of attack. He jumped off the wall as a few kunai landed in the spot where he had been standing. He landed at the center of the arena, and Naruto charged him while I got back to my feet to follow up. Hatsuji sidestepped Naruto's fist and kicked him in the side, sending him rolling across the arena, and I took the chance to charge with a kunai. Hatsuji saw me coming ten feet away and immediately took preparations to counterattack. I was a foot from him and super-sped around behind him with my kunai aimed at his back. He jumped out of the way before I could hit him and rained shuriken down on top of me, which all hit me, but I disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hatsuji landed on the wall, and I came up behind him with my fist aimed at his neck, but he cancelled his chakra and dropped to the ground, throwing a kunai up at me along the way. The knife landed in the wall next to me, and I only saw the paper-bomb wrapped around the handle just in time to jump out of the way. The explosion blew a crater into the wall, and Hatsuji was running across the ground, headed for the spot where I was going to land. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" My clone grabbed my arm and swung me around, throwing me out of Hatsuji's reach, while he intercepted Hatsuji himself, and was quickly defeated. I threw a barrage of kunai through the smoke at him, but when the smoke cleared, Hatsuji was just a log.

"Gah!" I turned around and saw Naruto get sent flying by Hatsuji, rolling across the arena and coming out towards the center. Hatsuji looked back over at me with a smug smile, and I lobbed a few shuriken over at him, which he merely dodged, and then charged me.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" My fireball hit him directly, but I found it hard to believe that I had actually gotten him, confirmed by the fact that he had shown up right behind me. I tried to jump out of the way, but he grabbed my ankle and swung me around, slamming me right in to the wall. I slid to the ground, barely conscious, and Hatsuji kicked me in the stomach, which pretty much did it for me.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I got to my feet, strengthened by the fact that he had just bluntly hurt Matt while the latter was still down. I fired off a few shuriken at him while he was still turned around, but he saw them coming and jumped out of the way, so they all landed in the wall right above Matt, who was still out. This was a problem for me, since Matt was perfectly right; there was absolutely no way I could beat Hatsuji on my own, and I waited for Genma to call Matt out, but he just stood there, staring at him with an amused smile on his face. I looked back at Matt and saw that his breathing was uneven, like, completely uneven. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, but Genma still didn't call him out. Hatsuji dived down on top of me, but I jumped out of the way, so he crashed harmlessly into the ground.

He fired off a few shuriken up at me, but I dived out of the way of them and landed on the wall, waiting for him to come and charge me. Instead of doing so, he made some hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

I ran out of the way of the fireball, so it smashed into the wall of the arena, and I pulled out a kunai and charged Hatsuji, who just stood there unarmed. I got to him, and he knocked my knife away with his bare hand, and seeing that I was sunk if I tried anything else, I jumped back and waited for him to make the next move.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He fired a huge fireball out of his mouth at me, but I jumped out of the way, letting it smash into the wall, and dived down on top of him with a kunai. He jumped out of the way, and I landed on the ground and threw my kunai at him, but he pulled out a kunai of his own and knocked it out of the air. I charged him with my fist while he flew towards the ground, and when he landed, I aimed it at his face, but he ducked it, tripped me up, spun around, and landed his leg into my stomach to keep me on the ground, unable to move in pain.

"It's time to finish you, Naruto Uzumaki. _Boulder Breaker!_" His fist became engulfed in chakra, and I was in too much pain to move. It looked like this was it for the Chunin Exams for me. I really didn't think this guy would be so strong. I flashed back to the day when I first became a ninja, when Iruka-sensei had given me my headband, and then to when I had been assigned to Team 7, consisting of Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Sasuke, and I. I then flashed back to the day we had completed our first A-Rank mission, and then to the first time I had taken the Chunin Exams. It had been in the tower in the middle of the Forest of Death, when we had just been told of the preliminaries, and I remembered the words of my comrade, Sasuke Uchiha to me. _Naruto…you're one of the ones I want to fight the most! _

And then, I flashed back to that day, not even a year ago, when Sasuke had abandoned the village to join Orochimaru. _It wasn't meaningless…we became best friends. _I had taken those words to heart, and not a day went by that I hadn't gone over them in my head. Despite calling me his closest friend, he had still used all of his power to try and kill me. The only reason he didn't was because Kakashi-sensei had interfered, and Sasuke had gotten away. Now, I was here, laying on the ground, ready to be beaten by Hatsuji. Then I realized, if I couldn't beat this one enemy, I could never catch up to Sasuke.

"_Boulder Breaker!_" His fist smashed into the ground, bringing up dust and rubble, and I had jumped to my feet and out of the way before he could hit me. I landed and skidded across the ground, looking in the dust to see what Hatsuji was doing. When the dust finally cleared, he still had his fist wedged into the ground, which he immediately wrenched out, and turned to face me, a smug smile still on his face.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Three clones appeared at my side, and I looked over at Matt to see what he was doing. He was still out cold, laying at the edge of the arena, and Genma hadn't done a thing about it. My clones charged while I hung back, and Hatsuji almost instantly took them out and charged me with his fist. I had to raise both hands to block his first swing to the side of my face, which was just a ploy to make me focus all of my guard there while he was wide open to land his fist in my gut, then spin around and land his foot in the same spot, sending me flying, and then rolling across the ground, almost to the other side of the arena. I rolled to my feet and tossed shuriken at him, which he dodged and then charged me with his bare fist, and knowing that I couldn't defend against him, I jumped out of the way and landed on the wall.

He kept on charging after me, running straight up the wall, so I conjured a single _Shadow Clone_ to intercept him, which he instantly took out, and I sent my fist through the resulting smoke. I felt my fist hit something, and almost immediately found out it was the palm of Hatsuji's hand, and his other hand grabbed me by the elbow, swung me around, and threw me to the ground. I smashed into it, expecting to get landed on by Hatsuji, but when the dust cleared, he was standing in the exact same spot, looking down at me. I got to my feet and threw a kunai up at him, which he just sidestepped, and the paper-bomb wrapped around the handle detonated harmlessly in midair. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" Hatsuji fired a bunch of tiny fireballs down at me, which I rolled out of the way of, and they all hit the ground where I had been standing. I threw some more shuriken up at him, but he blocked them all with kunai, and then dropped off the wall and dived down on top of me.

I formed a premature _Rasengan_ on my own, and waited for him to come to me. His smile widened, and he barrel-rolled through the air out of the way, landing right next to me and tripping me up. I landed on my butt, putting the _Rasengan_ in the ground as well, which exploded, sending dust and rubble everywhere. I rose off of the ground, not entirely sure what to do next, when a flash of lightning hit Hatsuji from behind. Matt had appeared in the air in front of him, a _Chidori_ in his hand, and blood spattered ten feet away from Hatsuji, who had been taken by surprise. Matt landed on the ground in front of me, looking to see what had become of Hatsuji.

"Glad you could finally join us," I said with a confident smile as I watched Hatsuji grasp his bloody side in pain. And then I got why Genma had never called Matt out; Matt had never been unconscious to begin with, but biding his time to wait for a good chance to use _Chidori_. And then the question came of how Genma knew that. And the answer? Matt's uneven breathing. He had been using Morse code to signal to Genma that he wasn't done yet, that he had a plan up his sleeve. I got to my feet, and both of us leaped away from Hatsuji, landing at the center of the arena. I had no idea Matt was so smart; I figured he was just some random kid with a talent for learning ninjutsu, but he was strong. I couldn't wait until it was my turn to fight him.

[Matt's point-of-view] The smug smile had disappeared from Hatsuji's face, along with the color in his face, and he said in a quiet, but deadly tone, "You…I will get you for this…just you wait. If you think a simple _Chidori_ is all it takes to defeat me, then you had best think again." He made some hand signs, and said, "_Lava Style: Volcano Pit!_"


	44. Chapter 44: When All Else Fails

Author's Note: So I have some depressing news for you all...I just started my new job, and since I work on Saturdays, there is a very strong possibility that the future chapters from here on out will be posted as late as this one. I am playing with the idea of just moving them to Sunday, but I want to wait and see how it goes. If I can remember to post them early in the day, before my shift, I will keep them on Saturdays. If not, well, I just feel moving them to Sunday would be better for everyone involved.

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS

"_Lava Style: Volcano Pit!_" "What did he just say?" I asked Naruto, not entirely sure I had heard Hatsuji correctly.

"I think he said…_Lava Style_," Naruto said, and I was relieved to hear the confusion in his voice, which meant he was as clueless as I was.

Molten lava spewed out of Hatsuji's mouth, pooling onto the ground and rushing towards us, hot enough to broil us alive with the slightest touch. We both jumped back, hoping the lava couldn't travel up walls, but we didn't have to worry about it, as it set five feet away from us, twenty feet away from the wall. I looked up into the bleachers at Kakashi, and yelled, "HEY! I thought you said there were _five_ Nature Transformations! You never said anything about a _Lava Style_!"

"There _are_ only five, the _Lava Style_ is a combination of the _Fire Style_ and _Earth Style_ Chakra Natures," Kakashi told me.

"Oh, well you could've told me that a little sooner," I said to myself as I looked back at Hatsuji, whose smug smile was back in full measure.

"_Lava Style: Lava Shuriken!_" A bunch of balls of lava shot from the pool on the ground and all flew at us, and we both leaped out of the way onto the wall, leaving the _Lava Shuriken_ to crash into the ground and bottom of the wall. The wall had melted somewhat and began to give, but it was just barely strong enough to hold. I leaped off the wall and dived down on top of Hatsuji, who made some more hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He fired a huge fireball up at me, but I conjured up a _Shadow Clone_, which threw me out of the way and took the fireball, obliterating it completely. I landed on the ground and charged Hatsuji with my fist raised, and when I was two feet away from him, super-sped around behind him, and threw my fist at the back of his head. He spun around and landed the side of his fist in the side of my face, sending me spiraling through the air, then tumbling across the ground.

I slowly got back to my feet and pulled out a kunai, and Hatsuji charged with his bare fists. I blocked one of his swings with my arm, then went at him with the kunai, and he ducked me, got onto all fours, and sent his foot into my stomach, sending me flying away and slamming into the wall. I slid back down to the ground, and only had enough strength to keep my eyes open; that kick, coupled with the impact into the wall, had knocked me absolutely senseless. Naruto jumped at Hatsuji from behind, but Hatsuji ducked him, and Naruto went flying over him and rolling across the ground, coming out five feet in front of me. He conjured a single _Shadow Clone_, which he formed a _Rasengan_ with and charged. Hatsuji made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flight Jutsu!_" Two streams of fire sprouted on his back, spreading out on either side of him, and when they set, I realized that they were a set of wings, which he used to lift himself into the air to avoid Naruto's attack.

"Alright, then, if you wanna play that game, lemme show you a little trick I came up with on my own," I said, as I made a hand sign. A burst of chakra emanated from the bottoms of my feet, the pressure of which sent me into the air, and kept me there, allowing me to fly just like Hatsuji. I looked for approval from Kakashi, and he seemed only mildly impressed by my _Flight Jutsu_.

I flew up at Hatsuji with my fist raised, and he made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

I flew out of the way of the fireball, which smashed into the ground, and came around behind Hatsuji with my fist raised. He caught it and threw it aside, landing his own fist in my stomach, then banging me in the back of the neck and sending me smashing into the ground. I rose up out of the crater that I had caused on impact, and looked up at Hatsuji, who was staring down at me with his smug smile. _Okay, I can already tell long-ranged attacks aren't gonna work,_ I thought to myself, _so that leaves taijutsu, _Chidori_, and…that_. 'That' was bound to work, but that was assuming I hit him first, and that was a very big if. I didn't want to reveal my ace-in-the-hole until I absolutely had to, mainly because I barely had enough chakra to support it right now.

I reactivated my _Flight Jutsu_ and flew back up at Hatsuji, who made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Pyrofists!_" Both of his forearms down to his hands became engulfed in flames, and he waited for me to get to him, fully able to kill me with one shot. I super-sped around behind him with my fist raised, and he spun around and landed his foot in my stomach, knocking me senseless, but I was just barely able to keep in the air. Hatsuji grasped my face with his flaming hands, and my entire body ignited, and he threw me into the ground, the fire burning a crater on impact. When the dust cleared, I was completely gone.

"What do you think I am, an idiot?" he said as he made some hand signs, turned around, and said, "_Fire Style: Fire Shield!_" A circular shield of fire appeared in his hands to block the _Phoenix Flower_ I had fired at him from the roof of the bleachers, and now waited for him to attack. Now, however, it was Naruto's turn. He flew up at Hatsuji from behind with the help of his _Shadow Clone_, which had also helped him make his _Rasengan_. Hatsuji had seen him coming just in time, and flapped his wings into Naruto, who immediately burst into flames, and crashed into the ground. His _Shadow Clone_ disappeared, and I realized that this was the real Naruto…the Naruto that Hatsuji had just killed.

"_Rasengan!_" Naruto dived down on top of Hatsuji from above with the _Rasengan_ landing in his back, sending him spiraling down and smashing into the ground while the Naruto I had previously thought was real disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a thin but intense stream of flame down at the dust cloud that Hatsuji was in, and it smashed into it, sending fire in every direction. The entire center of the arena had erupted in flames, and Naruto had to move to the base of the wall to avoid getting charbroiled. At first, I thought we might have actually gotten to him, but then the flame started swirling in towards Hatsuji, and I knew we were in trouble.

"_Fire Style: Fire Armor!_" All of the fire from the _Dragon Flame Jutsu_ formed a suit of armor around him to go with his wings, and he was now ten times as deadly as he ever was before. "Why can't we take this guy down?" I asked myself, as I possessed a grand total of one jutsu that might be able to help us here.

"_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I fired three small balls of water out of my mouth at Hatsuji, but his _Fire Armor_ evaporated them on contact.

"Right now, I have enough power to obliterate you both in one fell swoop!" Hatsuji said excitedly, almost maniacally.

"Tch, who are you!" I said, trying to stall time while I thought of a plan to defeat him, not that I was entirely optimistic about the whole situation.

"I'm just a regular guy looking for a good fight," he answered casually, but the maniacal smile made it completely creepy. He made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Burst!_" His _Fire Armor_ swelled into a bubble around him that expanded until it was twenty feet in diameter, and was still getting bigger. I realized what he was going to do; he was going to destroy the entire arena and everyone in it, including the Hokage. I knew we were sunk, so I just stood there, waiting for the fire to come.

"_Water Style: Water Wall!_" A tower of water burst up around us and our savior, who I couldn't immediately identify until the water tower collapsed.

"Kakashi!" I said, ready to crash and let him take care of this.

"Now, normally, my intervention would have meant an immediate forfeit for the two of you, but that was an attempted coup d'état, an assassination of a village's leader, so this is now beyond the scope of the Chunin Exams. This is a government matter that must be suppressed immediately. And so, Matt, Naruto, I am giving you your first S-Ranked mission, the toughest rank of them all. Your job is to capture the criminal Hatsuji Korero to be dealt with at the full extent of the Hidden Leaf Village. Do you except?"

"Absolutely!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Well, it's not like I have anything better to do," I said as I pulled a kunai and waited for Kakashi to get out of the way.

"What're you gonna do, Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Help people evacuate the arena, and when this is all over, assuming the two of you can still move, we'll continue the Chunin Exams, but in the meantime…good luck."

He disappeared, and I said to Hatsuji, "Well, you hear that? Looks like I don't have to aim for non-vital spots with _Chidori_ anymore, and I can go all-out with my other jutsu." I was surprised to see that he was panting in exhaustion, and realized that that _Fire Style: Dragon Burst_ had eaten up a lot of chakra, and along with all of the other jutsu he had used in this fight, I was surprised he wasn't on his knees. Naruto charged him with a kunai, and jumped up at him, but Hatsuji raised his arm, and the fire on it intensified, so the blade melted right off of Naruto's kunai. Hatsuji landed his fist in Naruto's stomach, which scorched a hole in his shirt, and forward flipped, landing his foot in the back of Naruto's head, and Naruto dropped down and smashed into the ground.

"_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" I dropped down on top of Hatsuji with a ball of wind swirling around me, and Hatsuji flew out of the way, and I smashed into the ground, my _Air Shield_ bringing up dust. When the dust cleared, Hatsuji had fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ down at me, which smashed into me and sent fire across the ground of the arena. I appeared behind him and just above with my leg aimed at his head, and he didn't have time to dodge me, so I landed my shin in the back of his head, sending him dropping and smashing into the ground. I landed ten feet away from him and massaged my leg, which was only mildly burnt from contact with the _Fire Armor_. I realized the moment that his fist hadn't burnt all the way through Naruto's clothes, that we had a shot with melee attacks, which consumed no chakra. I also knew, however, that the only way we were actually going to be able to beat him was with our _Chidori_ and _Rasengan_.

Hatsuji got back to his feet, but it seemed like he didn't know what to do. Finally, he charged me with his fist raised, his speed fueled by his _Dragon Flight Jutsu_, his strength enhanced by his _Pyrofists_ and _Fire Armor_ jutsu. When he was two feet away from me, I super-sped out of the way, so he flew right on by where I had been standing and almost smashed into the wall. Naruto charged him with his fist raised, and Hatsuji raised his arms to block him, but Naruto jumped up in an arc over him, and tried to trip him up, but Hatsuji leaped out of the way. He floated in place a few feet off the ground with his _Dragon Flight Jutsu_, so Naruto conjured a _Shadow Clone_, which he formed a _Rasengan_ with. Then the clone swung him around and threw him up at Hatsuji, who flew up out of the way, and would have made it, except, "_Chidori!_"

I had appeared in the air above him, while Naruto was coming from below, and we knew just as well as he did that we had him. We both connected our attacks with him at the same time, me at his back, Naruto at his front, and the strength of both of the attacks slowly formed a huge sphere of chakra and lightning around the three of us, spreading ten feet out. It took about five minutes for the sphere to clear, and when it did, we all dropped to the ground, Naruto and I on our backs, Hatsuji on his stomach. Hatsuji's clothes were in ruins, and there was blood and gore all over him, but somehow, somehow, he managed to get back to his feet. "Oh…come on!" Naruto said as he looked up at him, a trace of fear in his eyes.

Hatsuji only panted heavily at first, but then, "When next we meet, Uzumaki, Withau, the results will be different!" And he activated a _Dragon Flight Jutsu_ and flew off. Well, it looked like we had failed our mission. Our job was to capture him, but it didn't matter; I had a pretty good feeling he wouldn't be coming back any time soon.

Both Naruto and I got back to our feet, both wiped blood from our mouths, and prepared for the final match that would prove once and for all who was better.


	45. Chapter 45: Friends and Rivals

Two more chapters until the Season Two finale.

FRIENDS AND RIVALS

Naruto and I stood in the center of the arena, both smiling in anticipation at the unquestionably tough battle to come. At first, we both waited for Genma to say "Begin!" but then we remembered that this was still part of the final match of the Chunin Exams, and we both intended to give this audience a good fight. Naruto was the first to charge, and I caught his fist, so he ducked down and tried to swipe my feet out from under me, but I let go of his fist and leaped out of the way, landing towards the edge of the arena and pulling out a kunai. Naruto charged me with a kunai of his own, and I charged him, and we both met at the center of the arena. We exchanged slashes a few times, until I super-sped around behind him and aimed my kunai at his back, but he spun around and blocked me, so I jumped back before he could counterattack and made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired off a huge fireball at him, but he ran out of the way, and it smashed into the wall. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I ran in a circle around him, firing tiny fireballs at him along the way, but he managed to run out of the way of every single one of those as well, and they all smashed in the wall just like the _Fireball Jutsu_. While he was focused on dodging the last of my fireballs, I super-sped up behind him with my fist raised and sent him into the wall of the arena, but the wall was so strong, he just bounced right back off with a broken nose. While he was still in shock from the pain, I charged him from behind again, spun him around, and landed my fist in his stomach, sending him stumbling into the wall.

I charged him again, and landed my fist in his stomach once more, pinning him against the wall, and then let him drop to the ground. I jumped back before he could surprise-attack me, and waited for him to get back to his feet before doing anything else. "Come on, Naruto, I know you can do better than that, you took on Sasuke of the Uchihas, right? Weren't they the most powerful clan in the entire Hidden Leaf?" I had read somewhere in the Hidden Leaf library about the Uchiha clan being the most talented clan of shinobi in the entire Land of Fire, and arguably one of the most powerful clans in the entire shinobi world. It took a few seconds, but Naruto finally shot to his feet and shot off some shuriken at me, which I could only dodge by super-speeding out of the way.

I threw some kunai down at Naruto, but he blocked them all with a kunai of his own, and then threw that up at me while I was still in the air and pretty much unable to dodge it. I swayed out of the way of it so that it flew up into the air passed me, and when I looked back at Naruto, I saw that he had picked up my kunai and threw them back at me, which were a lot harder to dodge, since there were more of them, and he had thrown them where I was going to be when they came by. "_Flight Jutsu!_" I activated a stream of chakra in the bottoms of my feet, which sent me flying into the air so that the kunai flew harmlessly passed. I flew down at Naruto with my fist raised, and he formed a _Rasengan_ to counter me. "_Fire Style: Dragon Dart!_" I fired a human-sized fireball down at him, which he intercepted with his _Rasengan_, and both dispersed on contact with each other.

I flew under his guard and slammed into his midsection, wrapping my arms around his waist, and drove him back, slamming him into the wall. I flew back into the air a few feet to give myself time to avoid any attacks he came up with, and when he got back to his feet, he made a hand-sign and said, "_Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" A huge puff of smoke engulfed the entire arena, and I looked around at the roughly one hundred clones staring at me from all sides.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured five of my own clones, which all pulled out kunai and waited for Naruto's clones to charge. I pulled out a tripwire with three fire-kunai attached, and spun around, tossing them at all sides to deal the most damage. When the smoke and fire cleared, I had only managed to destroy about a tenth of the clones, as the rest had moved out of the way. All of his clones charged mine, who held firm at first, but one was eventually destroyed, and so some of its attackers helped against the clones on either side while the rest charged me. I pulled out a kunai of my own, and being much more skilled than my clones, managed to get passed the guard of the two closest to me, then charged into the rest, slashing the guts of the ones I passed on either side of me along the way.

I jumped into the air to avoid a few kunai that were thrown at me, dived down at the one who threw them and took him out, then spun in a full circle around me, taking out five more. I threw my kunai at two more, rushed over to them, pulled out both knives before they disappeared, and leaped into the air to avoid kunai coming at me from every direction, which each took out a clone instead. They all threw kunai up at me, and I made some hand signs before they hit, so when they did, I turned into a boulder and was gone. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I ran along the roof of the bleachers and fired three huge fireballs down at the crowd of clones, which took out every last one of them, and meant that Naruto had escaped in the fight.

"_Rasengan!_" He appeared right in front of me with a _Rasengan_, which he landed in my gut and blasted me backwards, smacking me against the judge's stand. I could tell just by the amount of damage that it did that it was premature, which was not going to be enough to beat me.

"Thanks for your concern, Naruto, but I can take more than that," I told him, smiling up at him in self-pride. He smiled as well, and I heard something up on top of the judge's stand.

"_Rasengan!_" I looked up and saw Naruto and a clone, a full-power _Rasengan_ going between them. "Okay, then, why don't you try this!" he said, and he dropped down on top of me, his _Rasengan_ smashing into the roof of the bleachers. A section of the bleachers caved in, forcing people to run out of the way, and a huge dust cloud set over the arena, which I jumped out of back into the arena, facing the cloud to see what had become of Naruto. He flew out of the dust cloud with a kunai aimed at me, which I had only registered when he was two feet from me, so I had to take the stab to the gut, and used it to grasp Naruto's arms, land my foot in his stomach, and then flipped him over me and sent him flying into the ground. I landed five feet away from him and pulled out a kunai to defend myself, but when he got back to his feet, he just jumped back so I couldn't attack him head-on.

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired off twenty tiny fireballs at him, but he dropped off the wall and out of the way, so they smashed into the wall, bringing rubble down on top of him. When he landed, I charged with my fist raised, but he saw me coming and caught it, then landed his own fist in my stomach, then pushed me back by my fist that he had caught, and I stumbled back and fell to the ground. Naruto jumped off before I could get back to my feet, and I only just saw the shuriken he threw at me in time to avoid them. I super-sped out of the way of them and came up around behind Naruto with my fist raised, but he saw me coming and crossed his arms to defend himself. I sent him flying at the ground, but before he hit, I flipped off the wall and dropped off after him, landed my feet in his stomach, and smashed him into the ground, using him as a springboard to leap off of him and land on the other side of him.

I heard a sound coming from the dust that I knew very well by now, and braced myself to dodge. Naruto came charging out of the dust with a _Rasengan_ in his hand, and I waited until he was five feet away and leapt into the air to avoid him. I thought I was in the clear until another Naruto with another _Rasengan_ came flying out of the dust, aimed straight at me, with no way out. I had already used three _Chidoris _in this fight, actually, really, more like six or so, but Kakashi had taught me to build up my chakra when it was running low, so whenever I had been waiting for my opponent, I had always been building up my chakra. And now, I had plenty of chakra to support _Chidori_, but I didn't have enough time to make one, considering _Chidori_ took a few seconds to charge.

I didn't have a few seconds, which meant if I didn't figure something else out soon, I was in deep trouble. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired off a huge fireball out at Naruto, who put his _Rasengan_ out to block it, and sent the flames spiraling away. I was just barely able to grab his arm before his _Rasengan_ hit, but his momentum sent us dropping back into the wall of the arena, and we landed at the base of it, and his _Rasengan_ blasted a crater into the ground and wall, bringing up dust around us. Naruto jumped back towards the center of the arena, while I jumped up the wall, coming out towards the top and looking down at him. I spat out blood onto the wall of the arena, and thought to myself,

_Well, Kakashi said I was going to need this eventually. I guess now's as good a time as any._ I held out my arm and built up chakra.

"Whoa, wait, what?" Naruto said as he saw my secret weapon.

"_Rasengan!_" The spiraling ball of chakra appeared in _my_ hand this time, and I placed it against the wall to get ready to charge. I ran down the wall, and when I got to the ground, the _Rasengan_ didn't bring up dust; no, it blasted a crater across the ground and wall, which spiraled into place due to the nature of _Rasengan_, proving the _Rasengan's_ power over the _Chidori_.

I thought back to the time when they were preparing for the final match, when Kakashi and I were whispering; _"I'm surprised you didn't use our secret weapon," Kakashi said to me. "Yeah, well, I wanted to save it for my fight with Naruto, to surprise him."_

"Haaaaah!" I closed in on Naruto with the _Rasengan_ in tow, and he only just registered what was happening when I was ten feet away from him.

"_Rasengan!_" He formed a _Rasengan_ on his own, which meant it was premature, and tried to use it to block my _Rasengan_. My jutsu busted right through his immediately on contact, but it had kept me from hitting him, as he was sent flying back and rolled across the ground towards the wall. He got into a kneeling position and looked over at me, fear on his face. "Hey, Naruto!" We both looked over into the stands at a big old man with long, white hair and a grin on his face. "You know, no one ever said you couldn't take this to outside the arena. Why don't you give that kid a challenge, see what he does?" the old man suggested. I had to guess that by the way he was talking, he was Naruto's teacher that Kakashi told me about, Jiraiya, I think his name was.

When Naruto registered what he was saying, he looked back at me with a confident grin on his face. "Alright, Matt, I can't lose to you, or else I'll never catch up to Sasuke, so here goes!" He bit his thumb, cutting it open, and started making some hand signs.

"What are you up to?" I asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"_Summoning Jutsu!_" He slammed his palm on the ground where a black seal appeared on it, centered around the palm, and a massive puff of smoke, as big as the arena, appeared, concealing whatever Naruto had just done. I flew out of the smoke to avoid whatever attack Naruto had come up with, and when the smoke cleared about thirty seconds later, I flew back in horror at what was standing there. It was a massive, red toad, taller than the arena, with a colossal sword sheathed at his waist.


	46. Chapter 46: The Battle Gets Bigger

One more chapter until the Season Two finale:

THE BATTLE GETS BIGGER

"Wh-What the heck!" I said, flying back in horror at the giant toad standing in the arena.

"Hm? What is this?" the toad said angrily, which made me almost lose control of my _Flight Jutsu_.

"A giant, talking toad. This is gonna be a problem," I said nervously as I waited for the toad to jump up and land on top of me, flattening me like a pancake.

"Uh, well, Chief Toad," Naruto said, who had landed on the head of the giant toad, sounding just as nervous as I felt.

"WHAT! You again! What do you want now, kid, I'm busy!" the toad shouted at Naruto.

"Well, you see, the thing is, I've got this guy that I need to fight, and he's really strong, and I kinda can't do it without you, so could you please help me, just for a few minutes?" Naruto asked politely.

The toad looked around the arena, and eventually said, "Hm? Where is your opponent, kid? I don't see anything."

"He's right over there," Naruto said, pointing at me.

The toad looked at me, squinting his eyes as if I were on the other side of the village, and erupted into booming laughter. "Ha ha ha ha! Come on, kid, you really need _my_ help to defeat that kid? Oh, what a riot! Ha ha-huh?" He looked at me again, and said quietly, "This chakra. JIRAIYA!" He looked around the arena, and eventually spotted Naruto's teacher. The way the toad was looking at Jiraiya, I could tell he was silently questioning the old man of something. Without saying a word, Jiraiya simply smiled conformingly at the toad. The toad then looked at me with a much more interested look, and I immediately realized what they had silently concurred: they both knew I had the _Rinnegan_. "Alright, kid," the toad said to Naruto, "I'll fight for you, but only because I'm interested in seeing what this kid can do, so, here we go!"

He pulled his sword out and embedded it in the ground of the arena, then placed his hand on top and used it as a pivot point while he jumped into the air, and grabbed it just before it was out of reach. He cleared two-hundred feet, and I had to shield my eyes from the sun to keep him in view. He barreled down on top of me, his sword ready to obliterate me completely, but I just barely managed to fly out of the way before he smashed into the ground right outside the arena, his weight shaking the whole village. I flew away from him, firing off a _Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ along the way, but he put his sword out in front of him to intercept the fireballs. "Hey, Chief Toad, let's try not to do too much damage to the village, or else Grandma Tsunade will have my head," Naruto said to the toad.

The toad replied, "Don't worry kid, I know, I know. You don't worry about a thing, just sit back and let me handle this, okay?" The toad made another spectacular leap into the air, and cleared the Village Gate, landing on the outside. "Well, come on, kid, let's see what you got! I'm not gonna hurt ya'! Much."

"Well, I guess I don't really have anything better to do," I said, as I flew towards the toad and my death. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired off a huge fireball at him that was about the size of his hand, and he sent his sword through it, dispersing it completely. He went after me next, sending his sword down on top of me, but I dodged it, and he planted it deep into the ground, to where he had trouble pulling it back out again. While he was distracted with that, I fired off another _Fireball Jutsu_ at the hand trying to pull it out. He saw it coming and moved his hand out of the way, so the _Fireball_ smashed into the village gate, bringing chunks of it down to the ground. Seeing that nothing I did was going to work, I flew down into the endless Leaf Forest to hide and build up my chakra for some bigger jutsu that might actually do some damage.

After about five minutes, a shadow loomed overhead, and I looked up to see the giant toad diving down on top of me, his sword aimed at where I was sitting. I super-sped out of the way, and he crashed into the ground, his weight sending a shockwave through the ground which snapped several trees. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired the fireball at him from behind, which actually managed to hit his back, and he screamed in pain and stumbled forward, but managed to keep his balance while he turned around and faced me. Before I knew what he was doing, he swung his sword around and cleaved about fifty trees in two, knocking me off balance and sending me crashing to the ground with all of the bone-breaking limbs and trunks. I punched my way out of the trees with my head and arm cut open, my clothes torn apart and my headband gone completely.

The giant toad was looking down at me, waiting for me to do something, but I just activated another _Flight Jutsu_ and fled to come up with a plan, or run if I felt necessary. I looked back at the toad and saw that he had made a hand sign. "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" Okay, so, you know how my _Liquid Bullets_ are small, about as big as my head? Well that was the case for the toad as well; the difference being, since the toad's head was like twenty times bigger than my whole body, so was his _Liquid Bullet_, which made it lots of fun to have to dodge. I dived out of the way and it flew passed, uprooting trees along the way, and smashed into a small mountain, blasting it apart completely.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a thin but intense jet of flame at him, but he put his sword out in front of him to block it, and it scorched the ground around him, but didn't touch him. I super-sped above and behind him and landed in his back with a kunai, sliding the blade down the burn I had caused earlier, which probably made the pain ten times worse. He started to turn around and I jumped off his back, but didn't get far enough to avoid his sword, which he swung around and chopped me in half with. I disappeared in puffs of smoke, and fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ at his hand that was clutching his sword. He saw it coming a mile away and blocked it with his sword, then made a hand sign and fired another _Liquid Bullet_ where I was hiding.

I flew out of the way as twenty trees were washed away, and flew in a circle around the toad, who kept his eye fixed firmly on me, making it hard to hit him with anything. I eventually threw kunai at him, but he blocked them all with his sword, and waited for something a little more difficult. I flew right at him with nothing but my bare hands, and he prepared to intercept me, but I super-sped around his guard and came up at his belly. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I landed the fireball in his stomach, sending him up over his feet and then smashing back to the ground, his weight causing another shockwave. He was too dazed to notice the barrage of kunai that I had sent at him, which all landed in the burn, and then the paper-bombs detonated, engulfing his entire torso in an explosion.

The force of the explosion sent him sliding back about twenty feet, which really wasn't all that much for being his size, and when the smoke cleared, I knew he was in pain. The burns from both the _Fireball_ and the fire-kunai were completely black, and the explosions had opened up gashes around his torso, which were bleeding horribly. Blood was dripping from his mouth, and I had to guess the huge gash and burn on his back wasn't helping matters any. And that was when I noticed what was missing in this picture; "Where's Naruto?"

"_Rasengan!_" I turned around and looked above me to see Naruto and a clone, the clone helping Naruto keep control of the _Rasengan_, and then swung him around and threw him down at me.

"_Rasengan!_" I formed a _Rasengan_ of my own and used it to intercept Naruto, who smashed it with his own _Rasengan_, and this time, his held firm. Chakra exploded from our attacks, making the air itself shake, but our attacks stayed connected, one trying to overpower the other. Eventually, Naruto smiled, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Almost immediately after, the toad fired a _Liquid Bullet_, which landed right in my back and exploded, sending me crashing into the forest with a broken leg, arm, and several broken ribs. I was in too much pain to move, but luckily, I didn't have to, as my good arm was laying on my chest.

I activated a _Palm Healing Jutsu_ and began to heal myself, and eventually my bones were fixed, but all the other damage that had been done, like the concussion and case of whiplash the amount and mass of water had caused, I would have to deal with later. I went into a more secluded area with lots of trees to hide in and built up my chakra, knowing that Naruto and the toad were going to find me eventually. Only through the grace of the great Lord above was I able to build my chakra up to absolute maximum before they found me. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and flew up above the trees and immediately saw the toad with Naruto on his head. "So, finally got your chakra back up, kid?" the toad asked. I realized that they had known where I had been the whole time, just giving me a shot at making a comeback.

"Hey…toad, you have a name?" I asked, panting heavily from exhaustion. The question seemed to take the toad by surprise, but he answered it nonetheless.

"Yes. I am Gamabunta. Why do you ask?"

"Because, I honestly didn't know creatures like you existed," I answered. "Are there more of you?"

"Yeah, there's a whole mountain of toads, all varying in sizes. I'm one of the biggest," he added, which was a big relief on my part. Thank goodness he hadn't said he was one of the smallest.

"Alright, just wondering," I said, and I made a hand sign. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured two clones, which both pulled out kunai and charged, while I hung back and waited for an opening. Gamabunta tried to slash at the clones, but they avoided his giant sword and landed kunai and shuriken in any body part they could reach. With each failed attempt at destroying them, Gamabunta became more and more frustrated, and eventually leaped up into the air to avoid all the kunai. He made a hand sign and said, "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" He fired two massive balls of water down at the clones, and they were all washed away. I immediately saw my opening and flew up at him with a _Chidori_ in my hand.

Gamabunta tried to slash me with his sword, but I flew around it and landed the _Chidori_ in his stomach, cutting him open, but I didn't stop there. I drove the _Chidori_ into his body, going in with it, and I eventually came out of his back, drenched in blood. He had thrown his sword up from the impact, which was still flipping through the air while he dropped and smashed into the ground. Naruto had also been sent flying, and he flew all the way over to the arena, and he smashed towards the center, tore across the ground, and smashed into the wall, leaving a fine trail of dust in his wake. I flew up to the sword, put my feet on the butt of the handle, and pointed it down at Gamabunta, who was in too much pain to move. I pushed the sword down on top of him, and when he saw me coming, he said, "Well, looks like I had better go." And he disappeared in a puff of smoke. I landed the sword right in the center of the smoke, sending it floating away with the impact, and not long after, the sword disappeared in a puff of smoke as well.

I flew back to the village and over to the arena to see what had become of Naruto. I thought I had won, but then a wave of pure evil slammed into my mind, nearly knocking me out of the air, and the dust was blown away to reveal Naruto. His eyes were red slits, his teeth were fanged, and his hair was spikier than before. Also, there was an aura of red chakra around his body, that had taken the shape of what appeared to be a fox.


	47. Chapter 47: Conclusion

Season Two Finale:

CONCLUSION

"I've had enough of this, what are you?" I shouted down to him, not comprehending what I was seeing.

"I'm your friend!" Naruto said, and it was too far for me to tell, but it looked like maybe, maybe he was…crying. He roared, shaking the entire arena, and people started screaming and running for the exits, while others stayed, clutching the rails and looking down at Naruto in shock. I figured it couldn't get any worse, when the red chakra spiraled around his body, forming a kind of outline of some animal, a fox, maybe. The aura formed long ears on top of Naruto's head, and a big bushy tail at his rear, which waved around, like it had been a part of Naruto this whole time. He roared again and threw his arm out at me, and the red aura shot from his hand, acting like an arm itself with a hand as big as my torso, which I knew was perfectly solid.

I tried to dodge the arm, but it came back around and went after me again, and I knew this was not going to be an easy fight. I flew back out of the arena, closely pursued by the arm, and I eventually pulled out a kunai and threw it at the arm, the paper-bomb blowing it up. I was hoping I had at least slowed it down, but it charged out of the smoke and kept coming at me, so I had no other choice but to take it and hope it didn't kill me. I crossed my arms to provide myself with some defense, and the arm grabbed me, wrapping its fingers around my torso, and yanking me back towards Naruto, who then brought me down and slammed me into the ground of the arena, bringing up dust all around me. I charged out of the dust straight at Naruto, armed with a kunai, but he jumped in an arc over me and sent another chakra-arm into me, smashing me into the wall, where I disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The cloud of dust he had previously shrouded me in burst apart to reveal myself and a _Shadow Clone_, one with a _Chidori_, the other with a _Rasengan_. "How 'bout this double-whammy, huh?" I said, as the one with the _Chidori_ charged while the other held back. Naruto jumped into the air to avoid the _Chidori_, then sent a chakra-arm down at him, which smashed into him, and he disappeared in a puff of smoke. I appeared above him with my _Rasengan_, and he looked up, but didn't have time to dodge or block. I landed the _Rasengan_ in his gut, but his chakra-aura acted as a shield to block my attack, so he was only sent spiraling into the ground, and I had to imagine the aura would only protect him from that as well.

Naruto jumped back out of the dust and landed on the wall, keeping his red eyes fixed firmly on me, waiting for whatever I was going to do next. I say 'whatever' because not even I knew what I was going to, or even could do. If that aura was going to block everything I threw at him, my best bet was to wait it out until his chakra ran out. I just had to survive that long. Naruto shot another chakra-arm at me, and I leaped into the air, clearing thirty feet. Instead of the hand homing in on me, Naruto brought the entire arm up to use as a whip that slammed into my stomach and sent me flying further into the air, and then came back down and slammed into my stomach again, driving me down and smashing me into the ground.

He retracted his arm, and when the dust from the impact cleared, I was back on my feet, ready for more. What I hadn't noticed was that Naruto had already sent more. A chakra arm came up out of the ground right in front of me, catching me off guard, and driving me back, smashing me into the wall of the arena. He brought his arm up and the entire chakra-arm busted its way up from the ground, and Naruto reeled me in, raising his fist for when I got to him. The shockwave from the impact shook the entire arena, collapsing the stands closest to him, and his sheer strength sent me flying across to the other side of the arena, smashing through the wall and coming out the other side, then smashing into a building, bringing it down on top of me.

I activated a _Palm Healing Jutsu_, and started to heal myself, sure that Naruto was going to send another chakra-arm after me to finish me off. While I was healing, I thought to myself, _What…What the heck is he? Is he some sort of monster? Where did this power come from? I'm going to have to have a talk with Kakashi when this is all over, assuming I survive that long._ When the healing was done, I rose out of the rubble of the building I had landed in, looked through the hole in the arena I had caused, all the way to Naruto, who was waiting for me to come. I super-sped into the arena, smashing into Naruto, and driving him back into the wall. Of course with the aura, he probably didn't even feel it, but still, it was the best attack I could come up with that had a high success rate. I jumped back before he could hit me and landed towards the center of the arena, waiting for him to attack. I looked at his hands to make sure he hadn't sent another arm underground, but they were both where they belonged, which left me safe, for the moment.

I threw six fire-kunai at Naruto, which all exploded on top of him, blasting a crater into the ground, but when the smoke and flames cleared, Naruto was perfectly fine. Or that's what I thought at first. When I looked more closely at him, he was panting heavily, and his right hand was burnt, like it had been caught on fire. That was when I realized it. That insane power he had…came with a price. The longer he used it, the more energy it took, and the more damage it did to his body. And that was my way in. I just had to get him to use that power enough so that his body couldn't take it, and he had to cancel it. He fired another chakra-arm at me, and I waited until it was right on top of me and super-sped out of the way.

The chakra-arm came back around, and once again, I waited until it was right on top of me, and super-sped out of the way, this time going twenty feet into the air. He swung his arm around, swinging the chakra arm with it, but I barrel-rolled out of the way and it flew past me again. I landed on the ground and waited for it to come after me again, but instead, it retracted back to Naruto, who was panting even more heavily. After a few seconds, he held out his arm, and I immediately knew what was coming. A _Rasengan_ appeared in his hand, and I could tell without any kind of proof that this was a full-power one. In fact, I could tell it was even stronger than the original, because it was being influenced with whatever power Naruto was.

"Well, I don't have any suped up forms of the _Rasengan_, but I can improvise," I said as I conjured a _Shadow Clone_. We both formed a _Rasengan_, and put them together between us to form a bigger _Rasengan_ that was twice the size of the original. We both charged, and so did Naruto, each with our own attacks. We met at the center of the arena, and collided our attacks. An explosion of chakra emanated from our jutsu, destroying my clone instantly, but I still managed to keep a grip on the super-sized _Rasengan_. The chakra slowly formed a bubble around us, red chakra mixed with blue, and eventually faded to white. We both floated in midair, looking at each other but not doing anything else. Our attacks were gone and our hands were floating freely at our sides. The aura around Naruto was gone, but his eyes were still slits, his teeth were still fangs, and his hair was still spiky.

I was waiting for something to happen, and when it did, I kind of wished it hadn't. A massive explosion that was so powerful it felt like my limbs were being torn off blasted us both back into opposite sides of the arena. The walls somehow managed to hold, aside from the craters we blasted into them, and I was amazed I was still alive. I walked out of the rubble with my hand covering my bleeding arm, and I now had almost as much of my own blood drenching me as Gamabunta's. Naruto walked out of his pile of rubble, both hands at his sides, and I was thankful to see that his eyes were back to normal. "Well, Matt," he said with a smile on his face. "It's been a good fight, buddy." And as one, we both dropped to our knees, then hit the dirt and passed out.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Both myself and Lord Jiraiya appeared behind our respective students and picked them up, hoisting them over our shoulders. "That was some fight, eh, Kakashi?" Lord Jiraiya said with a proud smile on his face.

"It most certainly was," I agreed. We both walked over to the medical ninja waiting for the two of them, and set them down on stretchers so they could be hauled off. We both stood in the operating room while the doctors ran tests, and they eventually concurred that neither of them were in any danger, both just out from exhaustion.

I heard Genma announce to the audience, "Due to the incapacitation of both candidates, there is no winner for the final match! However, we have decided to wait to announce the new chunin, as we'd prefer it if all candidates were present for the announcement. You may use this time to use the restrooms, get something to eat, or just stretch your legs. We will send out an announcement when we are ready to announce the new chunin!"

It took about an hour, but eventually, they both started coming around, and rose into sitting positions. "Whoa, wait! Have the chunin been announced yet?" Naruto asked, while Matt just fell back and laid on his pillow.

"Nope, they're waiting for you two to get back on your feet before they announce it, so just take your time, there's no rush," I told them. Much as I had expected, neither of them were in the mood for laying in a bed, so they both got back to their feet and headed towards the arena.

[Matt's point-of-view] We stood at the center of the arena with the other candidates, all except Hatsuji and Sarura Kuharu, the latter of whom was dead, and waited with bated breath for who was going to be selected. This time, Lady Tsunade took over.

"Alright, it's time to announce the new chunin!" she said. "Please give a hearty and well-deserved congratulations to…Matt Withau, Naruto Uzumaki, Rock Lee, Amachi Lee, Neji Hyuga, Gaara of the Desert, and Koruki Matanu! I'd like to personally congratulate each and every one of you! You all have done your village great honor."

"Alright!" Naruto high-fived me, then Rock Lee, while the audience screamed themselves hoarse with applause.

"Way to go, Gaara!" Kankuro shook Gaara's hand, and didn't seem remotely disappointed that he hadn't made chunin.

Once they were done, Gaara walked over to me and said, "Matt, thank you for such a challenging fight. I look forward to the next time we meet in combat."

"So do I, Gaara," I said, and we shook hands.

"Uhm," said someone from behind me. I turned around and saw Koruki standing there, looking nervously at her feet.

"Oh, hey, how's that arm?" I asked, looking at the bandages wrapped around her shoulder.

"Uhm, well," she said, unwrapping the bandages.

"Oh, my God," I said, feeling horrible as I saw the horrible scar running down the back of her shoulder, and coming out at the front.

"I know it looks bad, but it really doesn't hurt all that much anymore," she told me, reassuring me not at all. "But, anyways, listen, despite our differences on the battlefield, can we at least still be friends?" she asked with a friendly smile.

"Oh, uh, sure," I said, taking on a friendly smile myself and holding out my hand, which she grasped. About an hour later, all of the guests returned to their home villages, and the Leaf candidates went home, leaving me, Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura.

"Hey!" I turned around and saw Hinata Hyuga running over to us. "Congratulations on becoming a chunin, Naruto," she said shyly, and I immediately figured out her feelings for Naruto.

"Thanks!" said Naruto, noticing nothing.

"By the way, Matt," she said, looking at me with a nervous expression. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you in the preliminaries. It wasn't right, you were just trying to do your best. But, can you find it in your heart to at least be something close to friends?" she asked with a mirror expression of Koruki.

"Sure, I don't have a problem with that," I replied with another smile.

"Thank you!" she said, and she ran off to join her teammates, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame.

"Well, Matt, what are you gonna do?" Kakashi asked.

I thought about it for a moment and said, "I think I'm gonna go back to St. Peters, and try to live a somewhat normal life. Granted, I've had more fun in the past three months than I have in the whole rest of my life combined, but putting my life in danger every day is just too much."

"Hey, man, you come by _anytime_ you want!" Naruto said, and he held his fist out, which I pounded.

"Well, I guess we'll see you when we see you, but first, there's one more jutsu I need to teach you, before you can go back," Kakashi informed me.

"No you don't. I already know the _Teleportation Jutsu_," I replied.

"Of course you do. Well, if that's the case, all I can say is goodbye and good luck," Kakashi said, and we shook hands.

"Bye, Matt," Sakura said.

"See ya'!" said Naruto. I made a hand sign and disappeared in a puff of smoke, on my way back to St. Peters.

Meanwhile, in another part of Japan, two people sat in the darkness of a hideout, examining a giant television screen. A still of my face illuminated the room, and one of the people, with long, sleek, black hair down to his waist was examining the shot with a smile on his face. "Interesting, eh? He might even be a challenge for you," he said to the other one.

This one had black hair as well, which framed the side of his face, and was spiked up in the back. "Hah, not a chance. No one from that pathetic village can beat me." With this, he swung his sword through the television screen, cleaving it in half and sending it crashing to the ground.

The one with the long hair watched the other as he exited the room. _Soon,_ he thought to himself, _we'll put that theory to the test._

* * *

I want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to read this series, and then to the people who stuck with it. Just remember, after today, the series stops for four weeks. Season Three will pick up on January 14th, 2012. However, I have some good news as well. The anniversary of the day that Naruto Chronicles first started is coming up, and as an extra thank you present to all of the people who have read this, I'm going to put out something special. On January 6th, I will post what will basically be a written form of a movie. It will take place on the side of the main story line, and it will be ten times longer than a normal chapter (and when I say 'ten times' I mean a typical chapter is 3 1/2 pages long, this is 35). I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope you all do too. Until then, have a great Holiday, guys!


	48. Book of the Gods

And here it is! As I said, this is ridiculously long, but if you still read all the way to the end, then I will seriously appreciate it! Hope you all enjoy, and as a reminder, Season Three of the regular story will start up on January 14th.

BOOK OF THE GODS

It was a quiet day in the city of St. Peters. The Fifty-three-thousand residents were scattered across the city, minding their own business, making their way to their jobs with hardly a care in the world. City Hall was located off of Mexico Road, near the Rec-Plex. Across the street was the Barnes Retina Institute. It wasn't an overly large building, but it made its way. That was until the front wall was blown out in a massive explosion that enveloped the entire interior, instantly killing twenty people. The blast ignited instant chaos as everyone within two-hundred feet tore off in every direction. Cars crashed into each other in an effort to get away from the danger.

Within minutes, brigades of fire engines, ambulances and police vehicles pulled up outside. A force of eight police officers looked around with their guns aimed, searching for someone who might have caused the explosion. A bomb squad entered the building with their equipment, and were lost in the smoke. One of the police officers walked slowly backwards, not noticing the woman standing behind him. Blood spattered through the air as the police officer fell to his knees, then hit the ground with his eyes open and staring blankly. The other police officers fired their weapons relentlessly, but all of the bullets passed through her like she was a mirage. One-by-one, the officers stopped firing, their eyes wide in a mixture of shock and horror.

The woman had long, red hair down to her waist, and was wearing a deep-purple kimono. "What are you?" one of the officers asked in a timid tone. The woman's smile widened as she casually walked forward. More blood spattered through the air as all of the other police officers dropped to the ground. The woman looked down at them with a satisfied smile as she wiped blood from her face.

Her eyes widened as I stood behind her with a _Chidori _raised. She looked behind her at me, and I thrust the _Chidori_ forward, which caused a massive explosion. The woman flew out of the opposite end of the smoke cloud with an anticipant smile on her face, and the cloud cleared to reveal myself, standing somewhat casually, ready to take her out. "Why don't we start with who you are?" I suggested.

"Oh, I think I'll save that for later," she said with a smile.

"Okay then," I complied as I raised my hand, "I'll just beat it out of you."

"Ooh, good luck with that," she said seductively.

I flashed a smile and threw three kunai at her, but she blocked them all with her own knife. I charged her with my knife raised, but she skillfully blocked every slash I sent her way.

"You're not very strong, are you?" she asked casually as she continued blocking me.

I steadily became more and more frustrated as I continued hacking away, but she finally disappeared, nearly sending me face-first into the dirt. I was just barely able to catch myself, and I turned around to look on the roof of another building. She was standing there with a leisurely smile, looking down at me through self-superior eyes.

"Get that grin off your face!" I warned her, and I threw three fire-kunai up at her. She simply stood there and watched them fly up at her, and the combined explosions completely destroyed the building she was standing on, and also created a fifty-foot-diameter cloud of smoke. "Let's see if she's still grinning after that," I said as I waited to see what had happened to her.

"My, my." My eyes widened, and I quickly turned around to see her standing five feet away, completely unharmed.

"I guess it'd be too easy if you went down that quickly," I said as I pulled out another kunai.

"Oh, come on, let's not fight like this. I'm so sick of having to kill little boys like you, especially ones who have absolutely no talent at all."

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew the fireball out of my mouth, knowing she had no way to dodge, but her grin widened as she stood there and let it pass over her. The flames tore the ground apart, and it raged into a wall and exploded, sending rubble flying through the air. I lowered my hands to my sides and said, "Okay…."

The women was standing in the exact same spot, completely unharmed, still looking at me with the same casual grin. "Alright, who are you?" I asked agitatedly.

"Hmm. I don't think I want to tell you my name," she said to me cheerfully. "After all, what difference does it make if I'm getting ready to kill you anyways?"

And that was when I took on a smile as well. "You think you can kill me? Well you're more than welcome to give it your best shot."

And that was when her smile turned from completely casual and non-caring, to one that was serious, and ready for a battle. We both disappeared in bursts of speed, and she reappeared twenty feet away, with me flying at her with a _Chidori_ raised. I closed the gap between us and swung my _Chidori_ at her, but she grabbed my wrist, stopping me cold. I swung my leg at her side, but it went right through her as if she were an illusion, and my eyes widened in shock. She let go of my wrist, and we both dropped down and landed ten feet away from each other.

"Not bad," I praised her. "I didn't even notice you were a genjutsu before now. But now that I know the truth, it'll be easy for me to snuff you out." I made the Ram sign and said, "_Release!_" Nothing resulted from my technique, and my eyes narrowed. "That's one hell of an illusion. I've heard of genjutsu that couldn't be dispelled like that, but they were all A and S-Rank. Looks like this might be a better fight than I thought it would." With the last word, I turned around and leaped away, making her look after me with a confused look. I sailed through the air, searching every nook and cranny of the surrounding buildings for the caster of the genjutsu, who had to be somewhere nearby to be controlling it. Something caught my eye, and I swerved out of the way of a kunai that flew up at me.

Before I could react, the paper-bomb attached to the handle detonated, blasting me directly and sending me flying down to the ground in a trail of smoke. I crash-landed, then skidded backwards across the ground out of the smoke, looking around to see who had thrown the knife. The woman was standing right in front of me, her smile still on her face, which was really starting to get on my nerves. I reached into my back pockets and pulled out a bunch of shuriken, then threw them all at her. They all flew right through her, and I immediately disappeared in a burst of speed. I came out on the roof of a building in mid-run, and I reached the edge and leaped off. I flew through the air, and five shuriken flew at me from below. I pulled out a kunai and blocked all but one, which grazed me across the shoulder, and I dropped down and landed on the ground. The woman was standing fifty feet away from me, but I knew better than to try and attack her.

"Come on, little boy," she said coaxingly to me. "Just turn around and run off, there's really no need for you to throw your life away. Leave now, and I'll forget this ever happened."

"Awesome…I won't," I informed her. Back at the site of the first explosion, three bodies were laying around the area. "Why don't you quit hiding behind your frickin genjutsu, and come out and face me?" I suggested.

"Aw, but that wouldn't be any fun. I like making you angry, it makes things more interesting," she said to me.

"Yeah, we'll see how interesting it is when your head goes flying off," I said as I prepared to charge.

Her eyes narrowed, but her smile remained, and I immediately knew what this meant, but I completely disregarded as I shot at her. She simply stood there as I came at her, and I closed the gap and lunged my fist at her face. She didn't even flinch as I came, and my fist passed right through her body.

_Damn!_ I thought bitterly. _I didn't even think about the fact that this is an illusion. I really gotta get my head on straight, or I'm gonna get killed._

But then, the genjutsu gradually faded, and I was left looking at a tree that had been two feet behind her. I looked closely at the tree, and my eyes widened in horror at the paper-bomb stuck to the bark. An explosion tore through the air, sending smoke rising above the city, and I slammed into the ground with my clothes torn and blood all over me. I raised my head to look around and see where the woman had gone, but I only heard her voice echo through the air. "Ha, ha, ha! This has been fun, little boy! But soon, very soon, the Village Hidden in the Leaves will be reduced to rubble! And everyone you know will be dead!" The voice faded away with the wind, and I knew it was time to pay a visit to my old home.

The Village Hidden in the Leaves; a small, peaceful village located somewhere in Japan (I was never entirely sure where). It was the most powerful of all of the Hidden Villages, with the strongest military force and economy. I walked through the gate, having changed clothes from the black t-shirt and denim shorts to the same clothes I had worn for the Third Chunin Exam.

"Halt!" I looked over at the two shinobi guarding the entrance to the village. They were chunin, whose names were Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki. "State your name, your village of origin, and your purpose!" Kotetsu commanded.

I reached into my pocket, making both of them brace themselves, and I pulled out a Hidden Leaf headband to show them. "I'm from here, Kotetsu, it's all good," I assured him.

"Oh, wait, that's that American shinobi Kakashi brought home last year," Izumo said as he rubbed his head.

"Oh…right. Sorry, we didn't recognize you. Please, come on in."

Meanwhile, in the back of the village, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade looked out the ceiling-to-floor window of her mansion at the glorious view of her village. Someone knocked on the door to her office, and she said, "Enter!" The door opened, and I walked in with a serious expression on my face. "Matt," she said with a surprised expression. "It's a pleasure to see you back here so soon, but what are you doing here?" she asked.

"We've got a problem," informed her. It took about ten minutes for me to explain what had happened back in Saint Peters, after which she was completely silent. She was sitting in the chair to her desk with her hands at her chin, fingers intertwined.

"Well…if I were to say we don't get death threats all the time, I'd be lying. But never anywhere outside of our own continent," she said thoughtfully. And by 'continent' she was referring to the continent-within-a-country; all of the Hidden Villages were gathered on a small island of Japan, and this had been labeled as its own continent. "And you have no idea who she was?" she asked me.

"Not a clue," I told her. "I asked her to identify herself twice, but she wouldn't. I tried to beat it out of her, but we both know how that went."

"And she really beat you as bad as you say?" Tsunade asked.

"She kicked my ass, then used it as a footstool," I said shamefully.

She went back to silence, and I had to guess she was thinking of a way to deal with the situation. "Alright," she decided. "I'm going to have you meet with a sketch artist to describe the woman you saw, and then I'll send a squad to Saint Peters to try and track her down. I'll also send word to the other Hidden Villages to see if they have any clue who we're dealing with."

I nodded, then got up to leave.

[_Third-person point-of-view_] Two hours later found Tsunade at the village gate, along with four other people. One of them was Hinata Hyuga, a timid and shy girl who Matt had fought in the Chunin Exams. Along with her were her teammates Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, and their sensei Kurenai Yuhi.

"Do you understand your mission?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Kurenai responded.

"Alright. You're the best trackers in the village, so it only makes sense that you would be the ones to find this person," Tsunade said.

"We'll find her," Kurenai assured her.

"Hey, how's the kid?" Kiba asked.

"His ego's bruised, but for the most part he's okay," Tsunade answered.

"Alright, we'll be off then," Kurenai said, and she and her team turned to leave.

Tsunade watched them leave, as they all made the same hand sign and disappeared in puffs of smoke.

They all came out in Saint Peters, at the charred remnants of the Barnes Retina Institute. "Alright," said Kurenai. "We're going to split up to cover more ground, but whoever this woman is, she seems to be far too dangerous for you kids to take her on your own. We're going to split up into pairs. Shino, you will go with Kiba; Hinata, you will be with me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" her team responded. With that, Kiba and Shino leaped off in one direction, while Kurenai and Hinata went in the other.

Two people stood on a nearby rooftop, looking down at them as they went. One had long, black, unkempt hair that fell to his shoulders. He wore a red, long-sleeved shirt and dark-gray pants. A black barcode was imprinted on his cheek, and there were more along his arms and legs. He had a very serious demeanor about him. The one with him was a very short man, about five feet tall, and wore a light-blue robe, along with a yellow scarf around his face. The short one laughed evilly, and said, "They've fallen right into our trap. I only wish hunting were always this easy, eh, Kagutsuchi?" When no one responded, he looked irritably at his ally.

Kagutsuchi was currently in the process of twiddling his thumbs, looking at his feet in thought.

"Hey! Kagutsuchi!" the short man yelled angrily.

"Huh?" Kagutsuchi said, having just tuned in. "You say somethin', Koshin?"

Koshin sighed exasperatedly, and said, "You really gotta get your mind in the game, dude. Come on! Let's go kill us some Leaf ninja!" And with that, the two of them leaped off.

Hinata had her _Byakugan_ active, and she was searching for signs of anything strange.

"Do you see anything?" Kurenai asked her.

"No," she answered. "Not even a trace of something out of the ordinary."

Meanwhile, Kiba and Shino landed near the Mid Rivers Mall, looking in every direction. "Well, aside from the destroyed buildings back there, everything seems to be pretty normal," Kiba said. When Shino didn't respond, Kiba looked at him to see that he was looking in the opposite direction. Kiba followed his gaze to a shuriken laying on the ground, one of the blades covered in blood.

"Matt said that he was the only one injured in the fight, right?" Shino asked.

"Yeah. So you're thinking that the shuriken over there belongs to whoever it was he fought?" Kiba asked.

"Well, I don't really see whose else it could be," Shino said somewhat exasperatedly.

"Well, let's take a look," Kiba said.

His dog Akamaru, who was nestled in his gray hoodie, jumped out and walked over to the shuriken. Kiba bent down next to him as he sniffed, and Akamaru then barked at his owner, communicating what he had found.

"Anything?" Shino asked.

"There's traces of her scent, but it's really weak. The chances of us finding her with what there is are really slim."

"Well, it's better than nothing. Can you at least tell what direction she's in?"

"Yeah, she's a few kilometers southeast of us, but she's moving fast. If we don't move now, we'll never catch her," Kiba said.

Shino thought about this for a second, then said, "Wouldn't it be better if we found Hinata and Kurenai-sensei, and then went after her as a group?"

"Uh, yeah," Kiba decided. "I don't know about you, but I _really_ don't want to take on the chick who floored Matt. I mean, come on, the dude beat Gaara. That takes talent."

"So it's agreed? We got after Kurenai and Hinata, then see if we can catch up?" Shino asked.

Kiba's eyes narrowed, and he looked over onto the roof of a nearby house to see Kagutsuchi standing there, staring down at them. "And who might you be?" Kiba asked as he prepared to battle.

"My name is Kagutsuchi, and I am here to kill you," he informed them.

"Well, you certainly don't beat around the bush, do you?" Kiba said to him. "But, uh…" he added, noting Kagutscuhi's skinny stature, "you might want to go and get some backup, there. I mean, we may be kids, but…I'm sorry, you're a toothpick, buddy."

Kagutsuchi's eyes narrowed in offense, and he said, "We'll see what you think after this fight."

Hinata and Kurenai were still searching for signs of the woman who Matt had fought, but they had found absolutely nothing. "Alright, I say we give it another ten minutes, then go find Kiba and Shino," Kurenai suggested.

"Sensei, look out!" Hinata said, and she shoved Kurenai out of the air just as a bolt of lightning shot past, hitting and igniting a small section of grass. Kurenai and Hinata were on the ground, and they looked up into a tree to see Koshin standing there, leering down at them.

"Who are you?" Kurenai demanded.

"My name is Koshin. And you might be?" he asked.

"I am Kurenai Yuhi," she stated. "Jonin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"Ooh, a jonin!" Koshin said excitedly. "Good, that'll be a lot of fun! And you've even got a Hyuga to boot! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I can't wait for this."

"Well, gee, you ever get the feeling he's mocking us?" Kurenai said sarcastically.

"Uhhh," Hinata said, not one to use a sense of humor.

Koshin chucked lightly, then said, "Let's get this show on the road." He made some hand signs and said, "_Lightning Style: Sniper Bolt!_" He held his arm out, and a bolt of lightning shot from his hand so fast it was almost invisible to the naked eye. Hinata once again pushed her sensei out of the way, and the bolt crashed into the ground, lighting more grass on fire. Kurenai and Hinata both got back to her feet, and Kurenai made a hand sign.

"Stay back, Hinata," she warned. Kurenai's features then became blurred, and she slowly drifted away as if taken by the wind.

"Oh, great, a genjutsu-user," Koshin said indignantly.

Hinata looked unsure of herself, wondering if she should obey her sensei's orders and retreat, or disobey and stay to help. When she saw the look of pure evil Koshin was giving her, she decided she would only get in the way and retreated.

"Okay," Koshin said impatiently, "where are you?" As soon as the last word left his mouth, his eyes widened in surprise. Tens of thousands of flower petals were surrounding him on every side, covering him in a seven-foot-wide dome. "Hah! You're seriously gonna use a genjutsu of _that_ caliber? Lady, you got issues!" He made the Ram hand sign and said, "_Release!_"

All of the flower petals were then blown away, and Kurenai then came down out of nowhere and landed on the tree branch Koshin was standing on. Koshin's eyes were wide in shock, and blood spattered through the air from a wound going down his torso. Kurenai had a kunai in her hand, and she then leaped off the tree branch before Koshin could counterattack. Kurenai sailed through the air, then dropped down and landed on the roof of a house. Koshin was using his hand to stem the blood flow from the wound in his body, but he then made some more hand signs and said, "_Lightning Style: Sniper Bolt!_"

He fired another high-speed bolt of lightning at Kurenai, but it passed right through her. "Damn it! Another genjutsu!" Koshin spat. He then started looking all around him for where the real Kurenai was hiding. Vines then shot up out of the tree he was standing on and wrapped around his wrists and ankles, binding him in place.

Hands formed their signs, and Kurenai's voice rang out, "_Genjutsu: Hellfire Jutsu!_" A wave of orange light poured over the scene, and Koshin looked up with wide eyes to see a giant fireball, thirty feet in diameter, coming down on top of him. He could only stand there and watch as the fireball crashed into him, causing a massive explosion of pure flames that decimated a fifty-foot-area of ground around him. The flames cleared, and Koshin dropped out of the tree he had been standing in and landed face-first on the ground. The ground was completely untouched aside from the two _Sniper Bolts_ Koshin had fired. Koshin then planted his palm on the ground to help support him as he got back to his feet, and he stared at Kurenai, who was standing fifteen feet away.

"I don't think you quite understand who you're dealing with," Kurenai informed him.

Koshin was panting in exhaustion, but he then broke into a maniacal grin, as pieces of his face cracked and fell off to reveal a gray underside. "No…" he corrected her. "The one who doesn't know who they're messing with…is you!"

"_Fang Over Fang!_" Kiba and Akamaru spiraled down from the air on top of Kagutsuchi, who was standing on the roof of a building. He waited until the last second, then leaped off to allow the two of them to crash straight through the roof and down into the house. A few seconds later, the front door opened, and Kiba and Akamaru walked out, both dirty from the impact.

Shino had his arms stretched halfway, with hundreds of bugs flowing out of both hands, and he fired a wave of them at Kagutsuchi. Kagutsuchi, who was now standing on the ground, jumped to the side of the wave, then landed in a mound of beetles that had been waiting for him. They crawled up his foot, attempting to cover his entire body, but Kagutsuchi made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Explosive Burst!_" A wave of fire exploded from his body, incinerating all of Shino's bugs and leaving Kagutsuchi completely unharmed.

Kiba and Akamaru both came around behind him, each rushing him from an angle, and they then leaped into the air. "_Fang Cut Fang!_" The two of them merged into a giant _Fang Over Fang_, and they barreled down on top of Kagutsuchi, who just looked at them with a completely nonchalant expression.

He then leaped backwards out of the way, causing the _Fang Cut Fang_ to smash into the ground, raising a cloud of dust thirty feet tall and fifty feet long.

Kiba and Akamaru both skidded backwards out of the dust cloud towards Shino, who said, "There you go, please, bring the National Guard down on top of us."

"Tch! Shut up!" Kiba said irritably. He then turned back to Kagutsuchi and said, "Alright, you've been good so far, but that's all about to change."

Kagutsuchi, however, was not listening; instead he was twiddling his thumbs, looking off in another direction.

"Hey! Don't you ignore me! What's wrong with you!" Kiba said angrily.

Kagutscuhi's eyes flitted back to Kiba, and he said, "Oh…sorry. I have a habit of going off into space when I'm around weaklings."

"Who are you calling weak?" Shino asked as his bugs flew around his hands.

"Well…you're the only other ones here," Kagutsuchi replied.

Kiba growled loudly, getting more and more antagonized by the minute, while Shino prepared to step in if necessary and keep his teammate from getting killed. "Akamaru…you ready, boy?" Kiba asked.

Akamaru looked at him in confusion, wondering if his owner was saying what he thought he was.

Kiba looked at him with a smile, and Akamaru immediately knew that the answer was yes.

Meanwhile, Shino, who overheard Kiba's words, said, "Oh, damn."

"Stay back, Shino," Kiba said to his teammate. "This is about to get ugly." He and Akamaru shot across the ground at Kagutsuchi, who seemed completely unconcerned. The two of them then went into a _Fang Over Fang_, and Kagutsuchi then leaped straight into the air. He crossed his arms in front of him in preparation, and Kiba and Akamaru spiraled up at him. Kagutsuchi swung his arms out and pushed them both to the side with either hand, and Kiba and Akamaru then came back around twenty feet behind him and slammed into each other, causing a massive puff of smoke that blocked out the sun. Kagutsuchi, who was still in the air, looked up at the smoke with a straight face, but his eyes then widened in shock.

"Let's see how you do against this!" Kiba roared from inside the Two-Headed Wolf. The giant, dual-headed dog in the likeness of Akamaru came down on top Kagutsuchi with its clawed paw raised. Kagutsuchi crossed his arms in front of him in defense, and the Two-Headed Wolf rammed into him, catching him between two claws. The claws, which were like daggers, cut Kagutsuchi across either shoulder, and the two of them dropped down and smashed into the ground, causing a dust cloud that completely shrouded Kagutsuchi. The cloud cleared, and Kagutsuchi was trapped under the Two-Headed Wolf, but he was looking right into the red, slit eyes without the slightest trace of concern.

"Either you've got a death wish," Kiba growled, "or you're the ballsiest man I've ever met."

And that was when a crack appeared in Kagutsuchi's right cheek, and it ran up his face, making the Wolf's eyes widen in surprise. "You really might want to think about getting off of me," Kagutsuchi suggested.

Kurenai flew backwards through the air, and a bolt of lightning hit her in the stomach, making her fly back and crash against the ground. An arm that had a hole in the palm of the hand dropped to the side of a tall and lean man, whose eyes were completely empty of life. "Guh!" Kurenai coughed up blood as she tried to sit up, and she looked through one half-opened eye at the newcomer, and Koshin, who was standing behind him. Strings made completely of chakra ran from the tips of Koshin's fingers to various parts around the other man's body. "I never thought…I would be facing…a human puppet," Kurenai panted.

Koshin, who was looking at his puppet in pride, said, "Yeah, I came by this shinobi on an assassination run in the Village Hidden in the Clouds. He was quite a powerful opponent, and after I killed him, I figured I couldn't just leave him there. So I decided to take him back with me and convert him into a human puppet."

Chakra needles severed several of the strings controlling the puppet, and Koshin looked to his left to see Hinata flying at him with her palm raised. Koshin had no choice but to leap out of the way while his puppet collapsed to the ground, and Hinata landed on the roof of the building he had been standing on. She glared at Koshin with her _Byakugan_ active, prompting a laugh out of Koshin.

"Well that's quite the scary look you're giving me there. Mad cuz I just blew away your sensei? Well why don't you do something about it?" The mouth on his puppet opened up, and a bolt of lightning shot out, catching Hinata in the shoulder and blowing her clear off the roof of the building.

She landed on the ground with her hand stemming blood flow from a bullet-sized wound in her shoulder, which was gushing blood over her jacket. A shadow loomed over her, and she looked up on top of the roof to see Koshin squatted down at the edge, looking down at her with a superior smile on his face. "Whoops. You really shouldn't take your eye off of an enemy's puppet, kid." Hinata didn't respond, and instead fell into unconsciousness. Koshin straightened up and turned around, walking back to the other edge of the roof. He jumped off and landed on the ground, and he stretched his hands out to either side of him. His puppet flew down to his side, and Kurenai watched them with angry eyes. A bolt of lightning crashed into her midsection, sending her rolling across the ground and knocking her unconscious.

Koshin walked over to her, looking down at her with a triumphant grin. "A jonin, huh? You're just what I need."

A man completely surrounded in fire shot down with his sword raised, and the Two-Headed Wolf disappeared in a puff of smoke, Kiba and Akamaru flying out of either side while the man flew down to the ground. "Jesus," said Kiba as he and Akamaru landed on the ground as well.

Akamaru was back in his dog form now, and he was whimpering softly.

"I know, boy, I didn't expect this guy to be so strong either," Kiba agreed.

A shuriken engulfed in flames shot out of the smoke cloud, and Kiba was just barely able to jump to the side, the flames singing his coat. Kagutsuchi's human puppet shot out of the smoke next with his burning sword raised, and Kiba just barely managed to duck his slash, then jump back behind him. The puppet spun around and threw three fiery shuriken up at Kiba, who took them all and spat out blood, but then disappeared in a puff of smoke and came out as a log. Kagutsuchi was standing on the sidelines, controlling his puppet with chakra strings, when Kiba came up behind him with a kunai raised. Kagutsuchi sent his foot back, stomping Kiba's foot and stopping him cold. Kagutsuchi leaped away to avoid a counterattack, then sent his puppet flying at Kiba for the kill.

Kiba was helpless as the puppet approached him, but the blade stopped an inch short of Kiba's nose, so that it wriggled from the fire around the blade. The human puppet shuttered violently as thousands upon thousands of insects crawled out of its joints, leaving it completely incapable of moving. Kagutsuchi's eyes widened in horror, and he looked over at Shino, who had his arm pointed at the puppet. "I get it now…so you're an Aburame," Kagutsuchi realized.

"That's right," Shino confirmed. "A battle puppet, whether human or mechanical, is all but useless against me. You'd do best to give up now, while you still have the chance." Kagutsuchi considered Shino's offered, but his eyes then became glazed over, and he keeled over and landed face-first on the ground.

"Whoa…what'd you do to him?" Kiba asked with wide eyes. Shino walked over to him, then held out his finger. A beetle flew up from Kagutsuchi's neck and landed on the finger.

"This particular species of beetle makes a powerful venom that will knock out anyone who's injected with it," Shino explained.

"Okay…is there any reason you didn't just kill him?" Kiba asked.

"Yes, actually," Shino answered. "We need to extract information from him: who he is, where he comes from, who he's working with, and what he wants. He's probably connected in some way to that woman that Matt fought, so if we take him back to the Leaf for questioning, we can get all the information we need."

"Oh," said Kiba. After a moment, he said, "I'd have figured that out eventually."

"Tch, yeah right. The only thing you can figure out is how to put a leash on a dog," Shino said under his breath.

"Alright, let's go get Kurenai and Hinata, and tell them what we've got. I can smell them about half a mile that way." He pointed south.

"Alright, let's go," Shino said. A cloud of bugs formed under Kagutsuchi, and they completely covered his body and lifted him into the air for easy transportation.

Five minutes later, they came to the spot where Hinata and Kurenai had fought, and Hinata ran up to them in a panic.

"Whoa, hey, what's wrong, Hinata?" Kiba asked, putting his hands on her shoulders in an effort to calm her. And then he saw the blood all over her jacket. "Wait, what the hell happened to you?" he asked, instantly becoming angry.

"We were attacked by this man from out of nowhere. He was really strong, and Kurenai-sensei and I tried to fight him, but he was just too powerful," she explained frantically.

"Okay, and? Where is Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba asked.

And that was when tears started to form in Hinata's eyes. "I think…" she began, "I think Koshin kidnapped her. When I came to, I looked all over for her, but she was nowhere to be found."

"Don't worry, we'll find her," Kiba assured her. "After all, we've got our own hostage to give us all the information we need."

Thirty minutes later found Kagutsuchi bound in chains, kneeling in the center of a darkened room. The walls were lined with people covered in white masks and long, dark cloaks. Tsunade stood over Kagutsuchi, and he looked up at her. His eyes quite clearly conveyed his nonchalance to his current situation.

"Do you know who I am?" Tsunade asked in a strong voice.

"Yes," Kagutsuchi answered. "You are the Fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Tsunade…granddaughter of the First Hokage."

"I see you've done your homework," Tsunade decided. "Now, then, we can either make this quick and easy, or long and extremely hard. Which do you choose?" she asked.

Kagutsuchi simply glared silently at her.

"Alright, then, Kagutsuchi, is it?" she asked.

He remained silent, which made Tsunade smile.

"Not a very loose-lipped one, are you? Good, I like that in a shinobi. Well then, where are you and your fellow criminals hiding, huh?"

After a moment, Kagutsuchi said, "You must be pretty stupid to think I would tell you so easily."

Tsunade gave a scoff of amusement, and said, "Very true. Alright then, Kakashi!"

Kakashi walked forward from the shadows to stand next to Tsunade.

"You know what to do," she commanded.

"Yes, but why wouldn't you ask Ibiki? He's much better at getting information out of people than I am," Kakashi inquired.

"As true as that is, Ibiki's method takes time, whereas you can get the information almost instantly. Now then, I'll stand back and let you do your thing." Tsunade indeed took a step back, and Kakashi stared into Kagutsuchi's eyes.

Kagutsuchi simply stared back with an expressionless look, but his eyes then suddenly widened in surprise, and he looked at Kakashi's left eye-the eye hidden behind his headband. The two continued looking at each other, with Kagutsuchi looking at Kakashi's concealed left eye the entire time. After about fifteen seconds, Kagutsuchi broke, falling limp and panting heavily. Then, he went into a dreamlike state, with his eyes staring blankly at Kakashi.

"Our base," he started, "is located in a set of caves on the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind." He spoke in a completely monotonous tone, as if he were in a trance.

"And? What are you all after?"

Kagutsuchi opened his mouth, but before he could answer, he started struggling with himself, trying to break free of his bonds.

"Hey! What are you people up to?" Kakashi asked in a louder voice.

Kagutsuchi started growling angrily, and the shackles around his wrist started to glow red. Kakashi's and Tsunade's eyes widened, but before anybody could react the shackles burst, and Kagutsuchi was free with an enormous, "Huaaagh!"

The people in cloaks around the walls all braced to charge, but Kagutsuchi clapped his hands together. The three-story building they were all in exploded, sending the entire thing collapsing to the ground and raising a fifty-foot cloud of dust into the air. Kagutsuchi flew out of the dust cloud and sailed through the air, headed straight for the nearest exit to the village. Four of the cloaked people flew off after him, but Kagutsuchi looked behind him, then made some hand signs. He held out his hand, and a tiny ball of fire an inch in diameter formed in the center of his palm. "_Fire Style: Pyro Grenade!_" He threw the _Pyro Grenade_ behind him at his chasers, but none of them did a thing about it as it approached them. The _Grenade_ came right into the center of the pack, then exploded with tremendous force, blasting them all out of the air and sending them dropping back to the Village.

Several shinobi threw kunai at him from the buildings below, but he flew out of the way and landed on a rooftop. Before anybody could intercept him, he made another spectacular leap, and landed on the side of the Village Gate. He shot up it, and when he got to the top, he leaped over it and sailed into the forest below. Three Leaf ninja dropped down after him, but when they landed in the forest where Kagutsuchi had disappeared, he had already gone. Tsunade was standing in front of the fire that was incinerating the remains of the interrogation building, and she was glaring in the direction that Kagutsuchi had escaped from. Kakashi walked up next to her, staring casually in the same direction.

"Damn," Tsunade said calmly.

The door to the cell slammed shut, and Kurenai was on her knees, shackled by her wrists to the wall. A man loomed in the darkness, and Kurenai raised her head just enough so that she could see him, and she had blood running down the center of her face. The man stepped into the meager light filling the room to reveal a young man with short, spiky, brown hair, dark sunglasses, and a fabric mask covering his nose and mouth. He bent down and put his hand to Kurenai's chin, gently lifting it up to better look into her eyes.

"Hello, there, little lady," the man said softly.

After a moment Kurenai said, "Who are you?"

"My name is Seiko Ren. And I've been trying for quite some time to get my hands on a jonin from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Now, here's how it's going to work. If you tell me what I need to know without resistance, then I'll let you go without harming you further. If you don't, well…." He held up a kunai to convey his point.

Kurenai spat at him and said, "I won't tell you a damn thing, so why don't you just kill me now and save yourself the trouble?"

"Now, now," Seiko coaxed, "don't be like that. I may seem like a bad person now, but once you get to know me a little, you'll find that really isn't very true. Now then, tell me, what is your name?"

Kurenai remained in rebellious silence, glaring into Seiko's covered eyes with defiance.

"You're quite stubborn, aren't you?" Seiko asked. "Tell me, would it loosen your lips if you were to know that we have your little student?"

Kurenai's eyes widened in horror, and she said, "Hinata? You have Hinata?"

Seiko reached into his pocket, and pulled out several locks of dark-blue hair. Kurenai looked at the locks in horror, and Seiko put them back in his pocket. "Let's try this again," he suggested. "What is your name, dear?"

"Kurenai," she answered miserably. "Kurenai Yuhi."

"Kurenai," Seiko said, "do you know anything of the Book of the Gods?"

Kurenai's eyes widened as she looked up, and she said, "Book of the…Book of the Gods?"

"Yes…it is a legendary script located in the Hidden Leaf Village, containing the details of hundreds of very powerful, and very forbidden jutsu. If my crew and I were to possess it, it would make our problems much less vigorous, so I'd much like to know where it is."

Kurenai's wide eyes looked into Seiko's concealed ones, but she remained silent.

"Remember…we have your student now, so you would do well to choose your words carefully."

Kurenai could simply gaze wide-eyed into Seiko's glasses, which reflected her face. She finally blinked, snapping back to the situation, and she said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Seiko grunted in what could have just as easily been disdain as amusement. "Oh, you're quite the liar, aren't you? Yes, any normal man would be easily fooled, but I am no normal man. I am well aware that you were to transport the Book from one hideout to another when it was discovered by the Hidden Cloud Village. You are one of perhaps five people who know of its current location, and I would very much appreciate it if you would tell me, Ms. Yuhi."

Kurenai's eyes were wide in horror, and she flashed back to the days when she was fresh from having just been promoted to jonin.

_Kurenai flew through the air, lobbing kunai down at a target dummy, landing one in each of the targets placed around its body. She landed on the ground, and looked at her work. She liked what she saw, and she decided to call it a day and go home. It was four years before the present. Kurenai walked through the village, when an explosion rang through the air, followed by screams of terror. She immediately ran towards the source of the blast, which had leveled a nearby building. A masked man shot out of the residing smoke cloud with a gold-bound book in his hand, and Kurenai immediately threw three shuriken up at him. He saw them coming, and blocked them with a kunai knife. _

_Kurenai made a hand sign, and slowly disappeared with the effect of her genjutsu. The man landed on the roof of another building, and vines sprouted up and wrapped around his wrist and ankle. He made a one-handed sign, and said, "_Release!_" The vines disappeared, and he leaped off again. As he flew, wind rushed past him, and Kurenai appeared in his path with her fist raised. He caught her punch, and she then kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying back down into the village. He smashed into a building and raised a twenty-foot dust cloud, while Kurenai dropped down and landed on the roof of a building. A _Fireball Jutsu_ shot out of the dust cloud at her, and she ran in the opposite direction, then dove off the building just before the _Fireball_ raged past. _

_As she dropped, the man appeared on the ground where she was headed with his fist raised and engulfed in flames. He thrust his fist into midair, and Kurenai was nowhere to be found. His eyes widened, and blood spattered through the air from a gash in his torso, as Kurenai walked away from behind. Three people wearing white masks and lavender vests appeared around the body, and Kurenai walked over to meet an old man. He wore a white hat that was tipped with red, with the kanji for _'fire'_ on the front of it, and he wore a long, white robe that flowed down to his ankles. Kurenai bowed in respect and said, "Lord Third." _

"_Good job, Kurenai," the Third Hokage said to her. _

"_Thank you," she said humbly. _

_The Third walked past her, and she looked after him for a moment before following suit. The ANBU Black-Ops moved aside to let the Third through, and he bent down in front of the body. He pulled off the mask covering his face to reveal a young man with spiky, brown hair and supporting a Hidden Cloud headband. "It figures," the Third said remorsefully. _

"_How much longer are we going to keep looking the other way when the Cloud tries to steal our secrets?" one of the ANBU asked angrily. _

"_If we were to call them on their actions, it would instantly start a full-scale war," the Third said indignantly. He then picked up the book that the Cloud ninja had stolen, then straightened back up and turned to Kurenai. _

"_What is it?" Kurenai asked. _

_The Third looked behind him meaningfully at the ANBU, who all immediately took the hint and disappeared. "This book is known as the Book of the Gods," the Third began. "It contains instructions on hundreds of the most powerful jutsu in creation. This book has been passed down through decades. Legend says that it was first created by the Sage of the Six Paths himself. People have continued adding to it, so that it is the most forbidden book in the entire world. I don't know the full story of how it came into possession of the Hidden Leaf Village, but it is our sworn duty to protect it. For if it were to fall into the wrong hands, it could spell out the end of the world as we know it. Very few people, even in this village, know of its existence. The fact that its location has been compromised means that we must move it immediately. Kurenai Yuhi…would you do your village the honor of being the courier for this task?" the Third asked with a smile. _

_Kurenai's eyes widened in surprise, and she immediately lowered into a bow. "Yes, of course sir. It would be my honor." _

"_Good," the Third said simply. _

Kurenai slowly fazed back into the present time, and the seriousness of her situation. "I take it you just finished remembering the mission?" Seiko asked her. Kurenai's eyes widened, and she then looked down at the ground, confirming Seiko's suspicions.

"Good…then you know exactly where it is," he said to her.

Kurenai's eyes narrowed, and she bit her lip, knowing she couldn't do anything while they allegedly had Hinata in captivity. Finally, she gave. "Okay…fine," she said. "The Book…the Book of the Gods is in…the Hall of the Forgotten, at the western tip of the Fire Country." Even behind the mask and sunglasses, Seiko's grin was crystal clear.

Thunder boomed from the dark clouds in the sky, and the mood in the Hidden Leaf Village had become one of dire urgency. Tsunade was standing at the Main Gate, along with Matt, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi.

[_Matt's point-of-view_] "So Kurenai-sensei's been kidnapped, huh?" Naruto said to the Fifth.

"Yes," Tsunade replied. "She has been kidnapped by the enemy, and it is now your mission to go and find her."

"I'm assuming you want us to go back to Saint Peters to search for clues as to where the enemy might be hiding?" Kakashi asked. His tone was calm, but we could all sense the skepticism.

"I wish I could give you a better outlook on things, but right now, we need to scour for every spare ghost of a hint on these people that we can get. If you can't find anything, then fine, but I at least want you to pick up where Team Kurenai left off."

Naruto then gasped, his eyes widened, and he pointed out into the distance and said, "Look!"

We all looked in the direction he was pointing, and saw a form staggering towards the Village. Kakashi's eyes widened as well, and he said, "I don't believe it."

Kurenai was stumbling up the path towards the Hidden Leaf, with blood all over her and her clothes in ruins. The four of us excluding Tsunade ran over to her to help support her while we brought her back to the Fifth.

"You escaped?" Tsunade asked urgently.

"N…No," Kurenai panted. "They let me go."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, and he said, "In exchange for what?"

Kurenai looked guiltily down at her feet, and she said, "They're headed for the Hall of the Forgotten."

"What!" Tsunade yelled urgently. "You told them about that!"

Naruto, Sakura and I had no idea what they were talking about, but I could tell Kakashi had his suspicions.

"I…I had to," Kurenai said, still with the same guilty tone. "They have Hinata."

Everybody's eyes widened.

"Wait…what?" Naruto said with a confused look.

"Damn," I said under my breath.

Kurenai looked around at us all, knowing that our reactions were beyond that of shock at a fellow shinobi's kidnapping. "What? What is it?" she asked.

Tsunade looked her in the eye and said, "Hinata Hyuga returned safely to the village along with the rest of your squad, Kurenai."

Kurenai gasped, and she said, "No! I don't believe this. How could I be so stupid?"

"What's the Hall of the Forgotten?" I interrupted. I could see Tsunade's hesitance with revealing this clearly secret information to us, but she apparently decided to put it aside.

"The Hall of the Forgotten is a place on the outskirts of the Land of Fire, where many sacred documents are kept hidden. These documents contain details of forbidden jutsu, or legendary evil shinobi that the world would unanimously much rather forget about. Whenever something like this comes along, they record it in documents, and then seal it away here for safekeeping, should they ever need to fall back on it."

"And what specifically are these guys after?" Sakura asked.

"The Book of the Gods," Kakashi answered.

"Okay," I said blankly.

"The Book of the Gods is a sacred book whose existence is known by only a few people in history. And even fewer are still alive today. It contains instructions on how to perform the most dangerous and forbidden jutsu in creation. The knowledge of even one of these jutsu would immediately put a shinobi in the S-Class. But if one were to get their hands on the Book, and then have access to all of the horrors written inside…," Tsunade trailed off. She decided not to finish, but we could all tell where she was going with it.

"So basically, it's the cache to the end of the world?" I summed up.

"Exactly," Tsunade answered.

"We need to get going. Now. Before Kagutsuchi and his team find it first," Kakashi said.

"Yes, the four of you get going now, while I get Kurenai into the hospital," Tsunade said. She took Kurenai from us, and we all immediately turned around and headed off.

Fifteen minutes later, and we were leaping through the forest outside of the Village, headed west towards the border between the Lands of Fire and Wind.

Kakashi's eyes suddenly widened, and he yelled, "Get down!"

We all dove towards the ground as a bolt of lightning shot through the trees at incredible speed, and it crashed into a tree and split it cleanly in two. The top half dropped down and crashed into the ground, and we were all standing thirty feet in front of it, looking in the direction the bolt came from. A man was standing in a tree, looking down at us with a confident grin on his face.

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked.

"My name is Koshin," he answered. "And you might as well just turn around now, because you have absolutely no chance of winning."

"We'll keep that in mind," I said to him as I prepared to go. I shot up at him with my fist raised, but he waited until the last second, then shot up into the air to avoid me, while I landed on his the tree branch that he had been standing on. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_"

I fired out twenty tiny fireballs at him, but he made some hand signs and said, "_Lightning Style: Rapid-Fire Sniper Bolt!_" He held out his arm, and a hailstorm of lightning bolts shot out of his palm like a machine gun, and they burst right through the fireballs, then continued on to me.

While continuing to pursue him through the air, I made more hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" The air around me condensed into a spherical shield, and the lightning bolts bombarded it, but the shield didn't give an inch. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" The _Air Shield_ dispersed, and I fired the fireball out at him as he began to descend to the ground.

He made some more hand signs, said, "_Lightning Style: Current Wave!_" and pointed his arm at the fireball. A circuit of electricity shot out of his palm with tendrils branching off, and it collided into the _Fireball_. The two exploded, concealing us from one another in a giant cloud of smoke, and he dropped down to the ground. He looked behind him at the ground to see me there with a _Chidori_ raised, and I shot up at him with it. He turned around through the air, crossed his arms, then swung them outward, shooting several bolts of electricity down at me. I took them all head-on, then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Koshin landed on the ground, and another _Fireball_ came down on top of him. He jumped out of the way to let it crash into the ground, and the _Fireball_ gouged out a burning crater in the ground while Koshin landed fifteen feet away from it.

The sound of spiraling chakra sounded through the air, and Koshin turned around to see Naruto charging at him. "_Rasengan!_"

He had the spiraling ball of chakra in his hand and aimed at Koshin, but Koshin made some hand signs and said, "_Lightning Style: Sniper Bolt!_" He pointed his hand at Naruto and fired another bolt of lightning, but I shoved him out of the way, sending us both crashing to the ground.

"Stay down and let me handle this!" I said to him, and I disappeared in a burst of speed. Koshin looked around to see where I had gone to, and I came out behind him with a kunai raised. He sent his foot behind him at me, and it landed in my stomach, sending me flying back. A shadow loomed overhead, and Koshin looked up to see Sakura coming down on top of him with her fist raised. Koshin jumped out of the way, and Sakura crashed into the ground, her chakra-enhanced strength blasting a massive crater in the ground around her. "Will you people let me handle this!" I said irritably. Koshin flew backwards through the air, and Sakura shot out of the dust cloud that she had caused at him, once again with her fist raised. "Damn it!" I said as I got to my feet, and I shot at Koshin as well.

Koshin pointed one arm at Sakura and the other at me, and charged up a _Sniper Bolt _out of either palm. I made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I spat out three balls of water at him, and he fired a bolt the instant before they hit him. The bolt collided with one of the bullets, and electricity bounced off of it and the other bullets, electrocuting him as well. The remaining two bullets, which were packed with electricity, crashed into him and blasted him, and he dropped down and crashed into the ground. Sakura and I landed near him, and she stayed back while I walked up to examine his body. I checked his pulse, but my eyes then widened in shock. A blade had shot out of a compartment in Koshin's wrist, and it had pierced my stomach while my guard was down. Koshin's face was cracked, and pieces of fake flesh fell off to reveal his battle puppet. The battle puppet that I had completely forgotten about from Team Kurenai's reports.

I grabbed the puppet's wrist and tried to pull the blade out of my stomach, but it pointed its other hand at me and fired a bolt of lightning. I was blown straight off of the blade and sent rolling across the ground, spattering blood the whole way. Sakura came at the puppet, but it shot into the air to avoid her, and swerved around through the trees. It came to a stop in midair, and its master hid behind a tree right next to it, peering out unseen at his enemies. I was struggling to get back to my feet, stemming blood flow from the wound in my stomach. I threw a fire-kunai up at the puppet, but it flew out of the way and let it fly into the forest. The explosion echoed through the air, along with the crashing of trees into the ground. The puppet fired another bolt of lightning at me, but I avoided it by going from being on my knees to my butt, letting it hit the ground in front of me.

The puppet shot down at me, firing bolts of lightning at me the whole way, and I struggled to dodge them while being pinned by the pain. I finally got to my feet and turned around to run away, but a bolt hit me in the back and put me back down. A blade slid out of the compartment in the puppet's wrist, and it aimed it at my back. I turned around to face it, then leaped backward, letting it land on the ground where I had been. The puppet then pointed its arm at me and fired another lightning bolt, which hit me in the stomach and knocked me out of the air. I went crashing through trees before hitting the ground, and by that point I had blood all over me. The puppet then retreated back to where it had been before, and I knew that that was where the real Koshin was.

"_Rasengan!_" Naruto came down on top of the puppet with his jutsu raised, but the puppet flew out of the way and let him drop down to the ground.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired three human-sized fireballs out at the battle puppet, and it flew out of the first two while the third smashed into a nearby tree, splitting it in two. The real Koshin flew out as the top part keeled over to the ground, and I threw three shuriken up at him. The puppet pointed its arm at the shuriken, and a small hole on the underside of its wrist fired a circuit of electricity, that took the shape of a web as it flew at the shuriken. The electric web knocked all of the shuriken out of the air, and the puppet fired three bolts of electricity from its palm down at me. I jumped backwards several times to avoid the bolts, and Sakura landed her fist in the side of the puppet, her strength blasting it to pieces and sending it flying away. Koshin's eyes were wide at this sudden team assault, and Naruto flew up at him with another _Rasengan_ in his hand. A circuit of electricity ran through Koshin's middle finger, and traveled down the chakra string attached to the tip.

One of his puppet's hands that was laying on the ground fired a bolt of electricity from the palm at Naruto. Naruto saw it coming, and used his _Rasengan_ to intercept it. The bolt crashed into the _Rasengan_ and knocked him back, leaving Koshin unopposed. I got back to my feet, panting from the pain of all of my injuries, but Kakashi walked past me to face Koshin. "Keep going," he said to me. "I'll stay here and take care of Koshin. We need to get to the Hall of the Forgotten before they do."

"But I don't wanna!" I said childishly. "I wanna beat this guy!"

"This is not a debate, Matt!" Kakashi said forcefully. "This is a matter of life or death. The fate of the entire world is in the balance here. We do not have time to screw around!"

"Then you go after them!" I persisted. "If the situation is really that serious, then wouldn't it be better if you were there to take control of the situation?" I asked him stubbornly.

Kakashi looked at me for a moment, then sighed in surrender, knowing he couldn't change my mind. "Fine. You stay here, and I'll go. Just make sure you don't die on me."

"Thank you," I said with a smile.

Kakashi leaped off, and as he flew through the air, he said, "Naruto, Sakura, we're pulling out! Leave this to Matt!"

Naruto and Sakura looked at him, and Naruto didn't hesitate to follow Kakashi. Sakura looked at me for a second before jumping off after them.

"Alright, pal, looks like it's just you and me," I said to Koshin with a smile. Koshin didn't respond, instead just smiling down at me from the tree he was standing in. He pointed both hands over at the remains of his puppet with his fingers stretched towards it, and the puppet began repairing itself, the joints floating back into place and reattaching. Within seconds his battle puppet was completely reassembled, and ready for battle. A blade slid out of either wrist, and they both started surging with electricity. The puppet crossed its arms, then swung them both outward, firing off an arc of electricity from its blades at me. I leaped out of the way, and the arc smashed into the ground, raising a dust cloud that traveled backwards from the impact point. I somersaulted through the air, making hand signs the whole way, and I fired a _Fireball_ _Jutsu _down at Koshin. His puppet swung its arm through the air, and another arc of electricity flew off from the blade at the fireball.

The arc completely dispersed the fireball, and the puppet then swung its other arm, firing another arc at me. I managed to let it fly past me, but the puppet then shot at me with one of its blades intent on cutting me in half. I intercepted it with a kunai, hiking my legs up to let the blade fly under me, and the electricity cleaved the blade right off the end of my knife. I kicked the puppet in the face, knocking it back, and I then rolled through the air and landed my foot in its stomach, sending it flying down and smashing into the ground. While I dropped down after it, I fired a small fireball out at Koshin. He jumped off the tree to let it fly past, but the fireball then exploded, sending smaller fireballs in every direction. One of them hit Koshin in the shoulder, distracting him while I fired a _Fireball_ jutsu at him.

He looked behind him to see it coming, and he spun around to try and defend himself. He made some hand signs and said, "_Lightning Style: Circuit Shield!_" A circuit of electricity ran across his entire body, and he dove right into the flames, turning them into a giant inferno in midair. He dropped out of the fireball and crashed into the ground, and while the _Circuit Shield _had protected him for the most part, he still had various burns around his body. He pointed his arm at his puppet, and it rose into the air, then shot straight at me. I pulled out a kunai to block its non-electrified blade, but the force of its slash forced me back through the air. It swung its other sword and grazed my chest, then flipped over and landed its foot in my head sending me flying down and smashing into the ground.

The puppet then electrified its blades and shot down at me, but I managed to roll out of the way as it put one of them in the ground. It then fired a bolt of lightning at me, and I went flying back. I landed on the ground and rolled roughly forty feet, then put a kunai in the ground to stop myself. The puppet swung its arm downward through the air, firing off an arc of electricity at me, but I got to my feet and sidestepped it, letting it smash into the ground and raise a dust cloud. The puppet fired swung its arms through the air a few more times, firing off an arc of electricity at me each time. I leaped around on the trees to dodge all of the arcs, and they completely leveled everything they hit, clearing a fifty-foot area of the forest. The puppet shot at me with one of its blades raised, but I ducked its slash, then stuck a paper-bomb onto its stomach.

I leaped out of the way just before the bomb blasted the puppet to pieces, and I lobbed several shuriken down at Koshin. He ran out of the way as the shuriken landed in the ground, and he threw three kunai up at me. I blocked them all with a knife of my own, and I then dropped down and landed on a tree branch. I waited for him to repair his puppet, more to strategize than anything, and when he had it fixed, he fired a _Lightning Style: Rapid-Fire Sniper Bolt_ at me. I jumped out of the way of the brigade of lightning bolts, but they veered upward and followed me through the air like homing missiles.

I made some hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I spat out twenty tiny fireballs down at the lightning bolts, and they all collided into each other, creating a horizontal line of small explosions in the air. I dropped towards the ground, then made the Ram hand sign. A continuous stream of chakra flowed out from the bottoms of my feet, and I shot through the air towards Koshin. His puppet fired a web of lightning from the hole under his wrist, but I flew out of the way, then prepared as the puppet shot at me. I ducked the first slash with its wrist blade, then used a kunai to block its second slash. I pointed my feet at it, and the streams of chakra scorched the puppet's body, knocking it back and leaving me free reign to go after Koshin. Koshin saw me coming, and he pulled his arms back, causing his puppet to follow me back to him.

I made some more hand signs, then said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired out my jutsu at him from ten feet away, but he just barely managed to jump to the side of it, allowing it only to singe his clothes. I came to a halt in midair, then shot at him with a kunai raised, but his puppet shot at me, firing several bolts of electricity along the way, and I was forced to stop cold, then shoot up into the air to avoid getting hit. The puppet electrified its wrist blades, then swung them both through the air, sending two arcs of electricity up at me. I flew out of the way of the arcs, but they followed me through the air, and I veered down towards the ground. The arcs pursued me the whole way, and I pulled out of my dive just before I hit the ground, allowing the arcs to smash into it and raise a dust cloud into the air.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I landed in a tree branch, peering out past the leaves at a massive, white temple set against the horizon. It was like the forest had dropped off the earth, as there was nothing but dirt within a hundred-foot radius of the temple.

"That's it," Kakashi-sensei said to Sakura and I. "That's the Hall of the Forgotten."

"You think the enemy's already there?" Sakura asked.

"Probably," Kakashi-sensei answered. "I would say we need to sneak up there to avoid detection, but uh…I don't think there's really any point."

[Matt's point-of-view] Several clouds of dust rose above the forest, one after the other, and I was leaping through the trees, avoiding arc after arc of electricity fired from Koshin's puppet. I landed on the side of a tree, which was immediately cut in half by an arc, and I jumped off just before the top half came crashing down on top of me. While flying through the air, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I spat out a giant torrent of flame at the puppet, and the opposing arcs of electricity were all rendered useless, electrifying the flames as they approached the puppet. The puppet was completely incinerated by the flames, and a massive explosion sent smoke and flames rising fifty feet above the forest, sending timbers raining down across the area.

Koshin flew out of the giant smoke cloud that had set over the forest, and I flew out after him with a _Chidori_ raised. I activated another _Flight Jutsu_ to propel myself towards him, and his eyes widened in horror as I near-instantly closed the gap between us. Lightning shot through the air as I buried my _Chidori_ in his gut, spattering blood through the air, and I drove Koshin down and smashed him into the ground. When the dust cloud from the impact cleared, I was standing tall over him, looking down and panting in exhaustion. The instant I confirmed he was dead, I leaped off to join Kakashi and the others.

[Naruto's point-of-view] The three of us approached the Hall of the Forgotten, taking note that the entrance appeared to be empty. Kakashi-sensei scanned the front wall for any traps, and we cautiously entered the structure. We crossed the entryway into a massive room, which was one hundred feet long, by eighty feet wide, and the walls were lined with hundreds of thousands of books, all neatly stacked in cases. The room rose four stories, and Sakura and I both looked around in awe. Kakashi-sensei, however, had his eye trained on a balcony set at the back of the room, where three people were standing, looking down at us. The one on the left was Kagutsuchi, while the one on the right, based on Matt's description, I had to guess was the one he had fought in Saint Peters. The one in the center…he gave me the creeps.

He had black sunglasses that completely obscured his eyes, and he had a blue mask covering his nose and mouth, almost like Kakashi-sensei. He wore a blue shinobi vest, along with a dark-gray vest, blue arm warmers, with mesh under it. He also had dark-gray pants, along with a Hidden Mist Village headband tied around his waist. "So…" he said in a deep, slow voice, "you must be the Hidden Leaf ninja that dear, sweet Kurenai sent."

"Yeah, that's right!" I said in a fiery tone.

Before anything could happen, a fire-kunai flew in from outside, and the three of them leaped out of the way just before it landed in the balcony. The explosion from the paper-bomb sent the balcony crashing to the ground, raising a dust cloud over the back of the room. Matt appeared next to me in a battle stance, looking around for the three of them.

[Matt's point-of-view] Kagutsuchi was standing on top of one of the bookshelves at the left side of the room. The woman I fought was standing almost exactly in the center of the room. The masked guy was standing in the rafters, overlooking the potential battle zone. I made some hand signs and said, "Get down here! _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I spat out twenty tiny fireballs, which all flew up at the man, who dropped down before they could hit. He dropped down to the ground, and I shot up at him with a kunai raised.

He made some hand signs, and said, "_Water Style: Watery Tar Field!_" He spat out a jet of water, which slammed into me and drove me down, slamming me into the ground. When I recovered from the shock of impact, I realized that the water was more like a web, pinning me to the ground and leaving me helpless.

Seiko came down on top of me with a kunai raised, but Kakashi made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Heat Haze!_" A wave of pure heat came from his mouth, and it evaporated the water, leaving me free to roll out of the way. Seiko landed on the ground, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired out my jutsu at him, and he took it head-on, while the _Fireball _raged past and smashed into the wall. I knew far too well that what I had hit was a clone, and I was now in the process of looking around for the real one. My eyes shifted over to the woman, who had made the Ram sign and was smiling at me.

"Hold on!" The masked guy appeared next to her, in a battle-ready stance as well.

"What is it, Seiko?" the woman asked with a confused look.

_Did she just say his name was…'Psycho'? _I asked myself, kind of hoping I had heard wrong.

"I want to fight this boy," Seiko answered.

"What!" the woman asked in shock.

He took a moment to answer, but when he did, he said, "I like the look in his eyes."

The look in my eye? Did that mean he knew I had a dormant _Rinnegan_? I guess it wasn't impossible. If a giant talking toad could figure it out, he probably could too.

"Well, let's get it started, then," I said as I prepared to charge him.

"Aya," he said to the woman, "keep the others off of us. I want this to be one-on-one." Aya leaped off without a word, and we both looked each other in the eyes. He made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Watery Tar Field!_" He spat out another web of water at me, but I sliced through it with a _Chidori_, then disappeared in a burst of speed. I swung the _Chidori_ at him from behind, and I tore him cleanly in half, but he turned into water and splashed across the ground. I turned around to see him standing twenty feet away with his arms crossed, waiting for me to make another move.

I made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired off three human-sized fireballs at him, but he leaped out of the way just before they smashed into the ground where he had been standing.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "_Rasengan!_" I charged straight through Aya with my jutsu, and she yawned with a severely bored expression on her face.

"Is this really all this little brat has? I wanna fight that little cutie-pie Seiko's having it out with." She then sighed and said, "Oh, well. I guess I'll just kill this punk and then maybe Seiko will let me have a crack at him."

I got back to my feet and growled in irritation, looking in anger at Aya. "Hey! Don't write me off yet! I'm way stronger than Matt, so you'd better put your guard back up!"

"Oh, really?" she said as she turned to me with a skeptic smile. "Well, then, come on, kid, let's have it."

"You're on, lady!" I said as I made a hand sign. "_Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" A massive puff of smoke engulfed the area, and when it cleared, Aya looked around with her grin slowly widening.

"Ooh, maybe you _are_ stronger!" she said gleefully as she looked around at the roughly fifty clones staring her down. All at once, we charged her with our fists raised, making her laugh. "Ah, ha! Oh, you might be stronger, but you're _definitely_ not smarter!" And she just stood there as we all shot straight through her as if she were an illusion, not even flinching as fifty people attacked her.

"Aargh!" I yelled in frustration. "Why can't I hit her!"

"Because she's a genjutsu, dumbass!" Sakura said to me exasperatedly.

"Oh…right…" I said awkwardly. I got up to face her, and she looked at me with a coaxing smile, daring me to attack again.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Kagutsuchi and I were simply staring at each other, myself with a lazy expression. He was twiddling his thumbs, but he hadn't taken his eyes off of me since we first met. "Are we going to do something, or do we want to wait until the other fights are over?" I asked him in a bored tone. He decided to remain silent, continuing to play with his thumbs. "Or do you want to come out of the shadows?" I called into the darkness lurking behind him. Footsteps echoed out, and a tall and muscular man walked out with a confident smile on his face. As he revealed his face, my eyes widened, and Sakura came down from the wall above him with her fist raised. Her strength gouged out a crater in the ground, but the man flew backwards out of the way, making some hand signs the whole way.

The pieces of rubble that had been sent flying from the impact all halted in midair, and they then shot at Sakura from all directions. They collided into her, and their force generated an explosion of dust that completely obscured her. I set her down ten feet away from the cloud, and then looked back at the newcomer. "You…" I said. "You're Chein-Shin. You were banished from the Village Hidden in the Stone for the discovery of an extremely dangerous and forbidden jutsu," I recalled.

"Very good," he said casually. "And you're Kakashi Hatake. Quite an honor to make your acquaintance."

"Sakura," I said in a whisper. "Get away from this fight, and take on Naruto's opponent. You're a skilled genjutsu user, so you'll be able to combat her. In the meantime, tell the knucklehead to take out Kagutsuchi. Naruto's the best opponent for him."

"Right," she said, and she leaped off. Chein-Shin didn't even look at her as she ran off, and was instead looking at me with the same casual smile. I took on a battle stance, and we both prepared to go at each other.

[Matt's point-of-view] I slammed a _Chidori_ into the ground, sending a large circuit of electricity at Seiko, who leaped out of the way. While he was still in the air, he made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Watery Tar Field!_"

"_Fire Style: Ember Shot!_" We fired our jutsu at the same time, and they collided in midair. The fire evaporated the water, and then sent tiny fireballs in every direction. Seiko didn't have to move a muscle to avoid any of them, and he dropped down and landed on the wall of the building. I made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I spat my jutsu out at him, but he leaped out of the way and let it smash into the wall. As he flew through the air, he threw three shuriken down at me. I blocked them all with a kunai, then waited to see what he would do next. As he dropped to the ground, I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and shot up at him with a kunai raised. I closed the gap between us and swung my knife, but he blocked it with his own, then kicked me away, allowing himself to drop to the ground.

He landed at a kneel, then straightened up and looked at me. "Perhaps it's time I get serious," he said. He made five hand signs, then took out a kunai and used it to cut his thumb. My eyes narrowed, knowing exactly what was coming. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue scroll, then unraveled it and put his hand at the summoning circle in the center. "_Summoning Jutsu!_" A puff of smoke engulfed him, and when it cleared, he was wielding a battle puppet that looked more like a human. I've seen puppets before, and they were very clearly machines. This one, however…it had perfect definition to it. It had blond hair and blue eyes, with a scar running down from his forehead, over his left eye, and down to his chin.

"What…what the hell is that thing?" I asked, anger seeping through me.

"This," he answered, "is what's known as a human puppet."

"So that thing used to be a living person?" I asked, my blood boiling.

"Yes. His name was Ranritsu, and he used to be a Hidden Mist jonin, much like myself," Seiko explained.

"And I'm guessing you killed him?" I asked.

"No," he answered.

"He was a gift from my master."

"Oh, goodie, so there's more of you?"

"Yes, however my master is currently on other business and won't be able to attend this event," Seiko informed me.

Relief mixing with my anger, I said, "Alright, good, so it's just us, then."

"Let's get to it," Seiko said as he prepared to attack with his puppet.

More to test them than anything, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired out a fireball at them, but Seiko leaped out of the way, bringing his puppet with him.

While flying through the air, he had his puppet make some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Fang Bullet!_" Two compartments opened up on either of the puppet's arms, out of which shot a torrent of spiraling water. I super-sped out of the way just as they came crashing down to the ground, tearing it apart. I came out squatting down on the wall of the building, and I shot up at the two of them with a kunai raised. Ranritsu made some more hand signs, and Seiko said, "_Water Style: Giant Liquid Bullet!_" Ranritsu spat out a ball of water that was as big as the _Fireball Jutsu_ (meaning it was about three times as big as me).

"Gah!" I was helpless as the _Giant Liquid Bullet_ slammed into me, driving me down and smashing me into the ground. The weight of the water smashed out a crater into the ground, sending a wave of it running across the ground. I was laying in the middle of the crater, coughing up water and unable to get back to my feet. When I finally got my senses back in order, I looked up at Seiko, who was standing on the remains of the balcony.

"Well, it's been real, kid, but I got things to do. See you around," he said to me.

"No!" I said, quickly getting back to my feet. But before I could stop him, he disappeared. "Damn it!" I said as I leaped up onto the balcony. A hallway led off deeper into the Hall, and I immediately ran down it.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Kagutsuchi's flame-covered puppet shot at me with its sword raised, but I leaped out of the way and let it smash into the wall of the arena. As I flew backwards through the air, and three flame-covered shuriken shot out of the smoke cloud at me, but I just barely manage to dodge them. I landed on the ground, then made a hand sign and said, "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured six clones, one of which stayed with me while the other one charged the puppet. The puppet swung its sword at one of the clones, causing it to disappear, and it then swung again, taking out two more. The remaining two came at it from either side, but the puppet stuck its sword in one, and its fist in the other, making both of them disappear. "_Rasengan!_"

My clone and I rammed our jutsu into the puppet's gut, creating a spinning ring of chakra as it shot the puppet back, smashing it into the wall behind it. "Now, one more!" The real me said as I came down with a second _Rasengan_. I slammed it into the puppet's gut, punching a crater in the ground under it, and leaving it paralyzed. I wasted no time in leaping through the air at Kagutsuchi, who looked completely unconcerned as he saw me coming. A wave of dark-blue fire crashed into me from behind, sending me flying all the way across the Hall and smashing into the opposite wall. I stumbled out of the crater in the wall, rubbing my head and groaning in pain. Kagutsuchi brought his puppet over to him, and he had it make some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Shadow Flame Jutsu!_"

The puppet's fist became engulfed in the same dark-blue fire, and it then thrust it through the air, sending another wave at me. I leaped out of the way as the wave smashed out the wall, causing a cloud of dust to rise into the air. Kagutsuchi's puppet shot up at me with its sword raised, and I just barely managed to swerve out of the way, allowing it to fly past me, and I then threw three shuriken down at Kagutsuchi. He sidestepped them, then brought his puppet back in for another slice at me. I managed to block it with a kunai, sending me flying up into the air and leaving me wide open. The puppet came up at me with its sword raised, but I made a hand sign and conjured a _Shadow Clone_ to take the blow. The puppet instantly took him out, and I rammed a premature _Rasengan_ into its head, sending it flying down and smashing into the ground.

I dropped down and landed twenty feet away, waiting to see what had happened to the puppet. A wave of blue fire burst out of the dust cloud, and it rammed into me, sending me flying back and smashing into the farthest wall. When I came to my senses, Kagutsuchi's puppet was charging me with its fire-enveloped sword raised. I leaped out of the crater I put in the wall, and the puppet smashed into it, blasting out a portion of the wall. While flying backwards through the air, I threw three fire-kunai down at the puppet. The fire-kunai detonated, blasting out a massive area in the Hall. I smiled at my triumph, but it was immediately wiped away when I realized what was behind me. Kagutsuchi punched me in the back, sending me flying down and smashing into the ground.

When the dust from the impact cleared, I had a clone to the side of me, and we had a _Rasengan_ going between us. The clone grabbed my wrist, swung me around, and threw me up at the puppet. The puppet held out its fiery sword to defend itself, and I rammed my _Rasengan_ into it, my momentum pushing the puppet back. The puppet reached behind its back, and pulled out a second flame-engulfed sword, with which it raised over its head and brought down on top of me. The fire caused an explosion that sent me flying down and smashing into the ground. The puppet put its right sword to its right side, focused the fire into the blade, and then swung it through the air, sending an arc of fire down at me. The arc smashed into me, raising a cloud of smoke around me. The puppet hovered in the air, waiting to see what had become of me.

A wave of chakra emanated from the dust cloud, and it was shifted aside to reveal me, on my feet, with red eyes that had slits for pupils, and enlarged canines. "Huaaagh!" After roaring I disappeared in a burst of speed, then rammed my fist into the puppet's stomach, sending him flying back through the air. I was right behind it with my fist raised, and my punch sent the puppet flying down and smashing into the ground. I conjured a _Shadow Clone_, with which I formed a _Rasengan_, and the clone grabbed my wrist with a single hand and threw me down at the puppet. I rammed the _Rasengan_ into the puppet, rupturing the ground in a twenty-foot line behind it and raising dust into the air.

[Sakura's point-of-view] _This chakra…_I thought to myself as I looked in Naruto's direction. I flashed back to three weeks ago, to the image that had been burned into my mind for the rest of my life. It was the image of Naruto, surrounded in an aura of red chakra that had taken the form of a fox.

"Hey!" I looked back at the woman I was fighting, whose name was Aya Ayaka. "You might want to get your head back in the game, there, girlie. You _don't _want to look away from me."

"Oh, really? And why's that?" I asked.

Her smile widened, and she said, "Because you'll die."

"I'm not even gonna worry about an attack from you," I informed her. "You're just an illusion; you couldn't do anything to me even if you wanted to."

And that was when she broke into light laughter. "Oh, is that so? Well, then, perhaps I need to stop playing around, since you seem to be a bit more intelligent than those two boys," she said to me. And with that, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a scroll. I braced myself, not entirely positive of what she had coming, but I had a pretty good idea. She bit her thumb, then unraveled the scroll and put her thumb to it. A puff of smoke enveloped her, and when it cleared, my suspicions were confirmed. Her chakra strings were attached to a woman with long, light-purple, unkempt hair that fell to just below her shoulder blades. She wore a lavender kimono, and her eyes were wrapped in white bandages.

Holding onto her puppet with one hand, Aya used her other to make half of a Ram seal. Her puppet's mouth opened, and blew out a gust of wind at me. I shielded my face, but still kept my eyes firmly on both my opponents. Aya's smile widened, and she said, "_Wind Style Puppet Jutsu: Visions of the Void!_" An ominous darkness flowed out from her puppet's mouth with the wind, and they both flowed around me, completely obscuring my vision. My eyes widened, as I realized that her jutsu had deafened me as well. I looked around in horror, knowing that a ninja who couldn't hear her opponent coming was as good as already dead. Blood spattered from a gash in my back, and I screamed a scream that was deaf to my own ears as I dropped to my knees, reaching back with my right hand to try and massage the wound.

A second gash tore its way across my right shoulder, making my arm fall limp with pain. Another gash tore across my left forearm, and then my right thigh, and lastly my right cheek. I knew I couldn't let her cut me to death, but what could I do about it? I couldn't see or hear anything, so I had no way of countering her. I made the Ram hand sign and said, "_Release!_" But nothing happened; it was one of those genjutsu that couldn't be released. As more and more cuts tore across my body, I gritted my teeth in helplessness, until I finally got up and ran. The instant I took a second step, I was knocked back down. I looked around me, then smiled. I made a sequence of hand signs, then said, "_Ninja Art: Illusory Banishment!_"

The instant I cast my jutsu, the darkness around me began to fade, until light was restored to my surroundings. Aya stood ten feet away, looking at me with an impressed smile on her face. "That's quite a powerful technique there," she said to me.

"Thanks," I said, also with a smile. "In spite of the fact that I'm a genin, while they're both chunin, I'm the only one in my squad who's descent at genjutsu."

"A bit more than descent, I'd say," I heard Aya mutter under her breath. She then brought her puppet to her side, and she then made some hand signs. "_Wind Style: Serial Waves!_" Her puppet swiped both its hands through the air, sending arcs of wind at me, but I leaped out of the way and let them fly past. The puppet swung its arms at me once again, but I managed to let them fly past, smashing into the ceiling above me. Several huge chunks of rubble dropped to the ground, but I put my feet against one, then used it as a springboard to propel myself straight at Aya. She readied her puppet for my arrival, and as soon as I came within range, it grabbed both my wrists, then opened its mouth and prepared to finish me.

I put my foot in its gut, shattering it cleanly in half, and I then dropped to the ground and came at Aya with my fist raised. She jumped out of the way just as I punched a crater in the ground, and I then shot up at her. She made some more hand signs, then said, "_Wind Style: Serial Waves!_" She swiped both her arms through the air, sending arcs of wind down at me, and I crossed my arms to defend myself. The arcs crashed into me, spattering blood from my arms and driving me down into the ground. Aya landed on the ground, then reassembled her puppet in an instant, bringing it over to her for protection.

I got back to my feet and clenched my fist, then brought it up and down into the ground, generating a shockwave that tore the earth apart on its way to Aya. She leaped out of the way, taking her puppet with her, and she made her puppet point its arms down at me, its palms facing me. "_Wind Style: Gust Bombs!_" The puppet fired half a dozen balls of compressed wind at me, but I leaped out of the way and allowed them to fly into the ground. When they hit, they tore a ten-foot crater into it, and I landed twenty feet behind it and prepared to go in again.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I landed on the ground, shortly followed by Chein-Shin, who was still smiling casually at me. I on the other hand was panting in exhaustion. I charged and leaped at him with my fist raised, but he made some hand signs and then bent down, slamming his palm on the ground. "_Earth Style: Boulder Bounce!_" A crack formed in the ground from his hand, then quickly ran in a circle, out of which shot a giant boulder that I had to put my feet to in order to keep it from hitting me. Chein-Shin then made some more hand signs and said, "_Earth Style Ninja Art: Vector Manipulation!_"

The boulder shot at me at the speed of a cannonball, sending me tumbling across the ground and coming to a stop twenty feet away from him. Chein-Shin made even more hand signs, and said, "_Earth Style Ninja Art: Boulder Split!_" The boulder, which was still in the air, split into six extremely sharp spikes, which then shot down at me. They all hit me head-on, but I then became shrouded in a puff of smoke and came out as a log. Chein-Shin turned around to see me squatted on a mound of rubble, glaring at him in frustration.

"That _Vector Manipulation_ technique…" I said. "It's a forbidden technique that allows you to take control of anything in motion, and then redirect it anywhere you want," I recalled.

"Very good," Chein-Shin said to me. Right at that moment, a tiny pebble bounced off the rubble I was squatting on, and Chien-Shin's smile suddenly widened. I just barely managed to realize what had happened when the pebble embedded itself in my shoulder, knocking me off my feet and making me hit my back against the rubble. Chein-Shin walked over the top of the mound, but I threw three shuriken at him. He made the Snake sign, and the shuriken then halted in midair, then shot down at me. I just barely managed to move my body so that they wouldn't hit me, and I then got to my feet and leaped away. Chein-Shin bent down and grabbed a rock off the ground, bounced it up and down in his hand, then tossed it up into the air.

The rock then shot at me, and I was unable to counter it as it tore a huge gash into my arm, sending blood spattering through the air and knocking me down to the ground. Chein-Shin threw another rock into the air, then used his _Vector Manipulation_ to have it fly straight at me, but I stuck out my arm and let out a burst of electricity that destroyed the rock and left me unharmed. I rose to my feet with the lightning still going, and with it aimed straight at Chein-Shin, I said, "_Lightning Style: Thunder Bullet!_" I fired a concentrated ball of pure electricity at him, but he leaped out of the way and let it fly into the ground.

When it hit, the _Thunder Bullet_ let out a massive surge of electricity that chained off of every piece of loose rubble within ten feet of it. While Chein-Shin was still in the air, I appeared behind him with a _Chidori_ raised, and he looked back at me with fear in his eyes. Then, his fear turned into a smile, and he made the Snake sign once again. The lightning trailing off of the _Chidori_ came around and electrocuted me, making me yell in pain. Chein-Shin used the opportunity to kick me in the stomach, sending me flying down and smashing into the ground. When I came to, Chein-Shin was standing over me with his casual smile morphed into one of triumph.

"So your jutsu doesn't only affect solid objects; it can manipulate the elements as well," I observed.

"That's right," he said to me.

[Matt's point-of-view] Seiko was standing in the center of a completely sealed-off room, with a book in his hands that he had taken from a post right in front of him. The book itself was bound in gold, and Seiko was tracing its contents with his finger. A portion of the wall behind him exploded, and I walked out of the destruction and glared down at him. Seiko slammed the book closed, and said, "So you finally decided to show up."

"Yep," I said as I dropped down and landed on the ground.

"Well, let's get this started," Seiko said. He raised his hands and attached chakra strings to Ranritsu, which was at his feet. His puppet rose up and looked at me, and I prepared for whatever it had coming. Seiko had it make some hand signs, and he said, "_Water Style: Giant Liquid Bullet!_" Ranritsu spat out a giant ball of water at me, but I leaped out of the way, allowing it to crash into the wall, sending books and scrolls cascading across the ground.

While I was in the air, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I spat out my fireball down at Seiko, who made his puppet spit an equally-sized _Giant Liquid Bullet_ up at me. The two jutsu collided, cancelling each other out, and steam was sent throughout the room. I landed on the ground to have Ranritsu charge me, but I made more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I spat out twenty tiny fireballs, but a compartment opened up on Ranritsu's chest, and four prongs sprung out, forming a cross that had chakra flowing through it. The chakra acted as a shield to block the fireballs, and the shield then closed to allow Ranritsu to counterattack. A blade slid out of a compartment on its right wrist, and I pulled out a kunai to try and fight back. Ranritsu shot at me with its blade raised, but I managed to block its first three slashes without a problem.

But then, the puppet rapidly made some hand signs, and Seiko said, "_Water Prison Jutsu!_" Water flowed out from Ranritsu's hands, and enveloped me in an airtight orb that left me completely unable to breathe. Any fire jutsu I tried would just be extinguished, and if I created a _Chidori_, I would just end up getting electrocuted and die. What I really needed right now was an Earth Style technique, but I only knew one, and it wouldn't do me any good in this situation. Seiko simply stood there and watched me, waiting to see if I would escape or drown. I hadn't had much practice holding my breath in the water, and I was starting to run low.

[Naruto's point-of-view] An explosion blasted through the room, and I stumbled out of it with blood running down my face and arms. Meanwhile, Kagutsuchi's puppet charged me with its fire-covered sword raised. I managed to leap out of the way, but it turned to me and fired a wave of blue fire at me. The fire hit me in the back, exploding violently and sending me flying across the room. Kagutsuchi's puppet raised its sword, and prepared to charge and finish me.

[Sakura's point-of-view] "Aah!" I fell to the ground with blood spattering from my body, and Aya and her puppet were standing ten feet away from me.

"I think it's time to finish this," Aya said casually. She made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style Puppet Jutsu: Visions of the Void!_" Her puppet spat out a dark-purple, ghostly fog that traveled around me, blinding and deafening me. I knew that this was the end of me, but I rose to my feet defiantly, unwilling to be cut down without a fight.

[_Third-person point-of-view_] Kagutsuchi's puppet shot at Naruto with its sword raised, while Naruto was helpless, laying inside a crater he had punched in the wall and watching it come, knowing it was the end. Sakura was knocked off her feet, and she hit the ground, but immediately rose to a sitting position. Matt struggled to preserve his last breaths, glaring at Seiko. A ring of fire burst outward as the blade of Kagutsuchi's puppet stuck in a form with long, brown, shaggy hair, and wearing a black cloak. "What? No…no way," Naruto said in shock.

A wave of wind rushed past Sakura, and the genjutsu slowly faded away, revealing Aya standing there with wide eyes.

"What the hell?" asked a voice that made Naruto look around. "You're duking it out with a bunch of puppet masters," said Kankuro with a smile, "and you didn't invite me?"

"Whoa…what are you doing here?" Sakura asked as she looked behind her.

"Well, you losers were slacking off," Temari said with a cocky smile, "so we thought we'd come in and join the party."

Kankuro offered his hand to Naruto, who took it and got to his feet. "Your Hokage sent us here for a little extra backup. Since I'm an expert in puppetry, she thought I'd be the best to offer battle advice," Kankuro explained.

"So…wait," I said, "is Gaara here too?"

[Matt's point-of-view] I was on the verge of passing out, when his hands clapped together, and Gaara's voice bellowed out, "_Sand Tsunami!_" Sand burst out from the ground under us, popping the water sphere like a bubble and allowing me to drop down on a cushion of soft sand. Seiko on the other hand was forced to flee for his life as the sand pursued him. He jumped up, landed on the wall, and then leaped across the room just before the sand could get to him.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Kankuro brought his puppet to his aid, ready to take on Kagutsuchi. "Alright," he called out, "you've had your fun with the Leaf worms, now it's time for me to have a little fun."

"It doesn't matter what village you're from, you won't be able to take me down," Kagutsuchi warned him. "Although I will admit that a battle with a fellow puppet master should make for an interesting conflict." The fire around his puppet's sword reignited, and Kagutsuchi braced him to charge.

Kankuro smiled and said, "You have no idea who you're messing with." Kagutsuchi's puppet charged, and Kankuro sent Crow in, spawning blades from the palms of its hands. The two exchanged slashes, before Kagutsuchi's puppet pulled out its other sword and ignited the flame on it. "Ha! Nice try!" Kankuro said. Crow ducked the fiery slash, then tore its own blade through Kagutsuchi's puppet's torso. Crow then swung its blades again and again, tearing its opponent to pieces and sending parts cascading across the ground. "Now, here's a new weapon I designed myself," Kankuro said with a malevolent grin. Crow opened its mouth and spat out a black ball. The ball hit the remains of Kagutsuchi's puppet, and exploded into a black mist that covered its entire body.

"There," Kankuro said triumphantly. "Now it can't be repaired with the _Puppet Master Jutsu_."

Kagutsuchi's eyes widened in horror.

"And everyone knows that a puppet master without its puppet is powerless," Kankuro added

Crow charged Kagutsuchi with its blades raised, but Kagutsuchi made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Pyro Grenade!_" He formed a tiny ball of fire in the palm of his hand, which he threw at Crow. Kankuro made no efforts to dodge it, and Kankuro was completely blown apart by the explosion. "And you're next!" Kagutsuchi said as he charged Kankuro with his fist raised. Kankuro's smile widened, and he pulled out a scroll from his pocket, which he unraveled and laid out on the ground. As Kagutsuchi continued charging, Kankuro bit his finger and made five hand signs.

"_Summoning Jutsu!_" He slammed his palm on the center of the scroll, and a giant puff of smoke appeared. When the smoke cleared, Kagutsuchi charged straight into the open torso of the Black Ant, which closed in on him and trapped him. Without hesitating, Kankuro held his hands out, and all of the limbs of his Crow puppet flew through the air, spawning blades out of each of the joints. Kankuro brought his hands down, and the blades pierced the Black Ant's torso, with Crow's head coming down on top and landing right next to the Ant's own head. "_Secret Black Move: Iron Maiden!_" Kankuro said triumphantly.

[Sakura's point-of-view] "_Wind Scythe Jutsu!_" Temari waved her fan through the air and sent a huge gust of wind at Aya, who put her arms over her face in defense. The blades that were mixed in with the wind cut her in several places around her body, until she was finally blown back and sent smashing into a giant piece of rubble. I could only look at Temari in shock, unable to believe that she was so powerful against an enemy that I had had so much trouble against. "I guess you didn't know," Temari said without looking at me, "Wind Style jutsu trumps over all genjutsu. Any genjutsu-user who stands against me is destined to be cut down."

Aya was starting to get back to her feet, and Temari put her fan behind her to prepare for another gust. Aya brought her puppet to her side, and she had it make some hand signs. "_Wind Style: Air Bullets!_"

Her puppet fired several balls of concentrated wind out of its palms, but Temari spun around in place and said, "_Wind Style: Tornado Wall!_" She stopped spinning and unleashed a giant tornado that blew away the wind balls, and almost immediately sent Aya flying as well. She orbited the tornado for several seconds before being sent all the way to the other side of the Hall, and she smashed into the wall, knocking out a giant crater in it. Temari made one final spin with her fan, and said, "_Cyclone Scythe Jutsu!_" She waved her fan and generated a giant gust of wind, twice as intense as the _Wind Scythe Jutsu_, with blades twice as large. The Aya's eyes widened just before the _Cyclone Scythe Jutsu_ rammed into her, sending blood spattering out from her body. The _Cyclone Scythe_ ceased, and several seconds later giant incisions ran in all directions across the wall, and the entire thing came crashing down on top of her.

"Well that takes care of that," Temari said with a triumphant smile.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Earth Style Ninja Art: Vector Manipulation!_" Three large rocks that were dropping to the ground shot through the air at me, and I jumped back to avoid one, allowing it to smash into the ground. I then leaped out of the way to avoid the other two, and while I flew through the air, Chein-Shin appeared behind me with a kunai raised. I sent my foot behind me at his stomach, but he blocked it with his arm and aimed his kunai at me. I kicked him with my other foot, using him as a springboard to propel off, dodging his slash. While I dropped, he made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Boulder Bounce!_"

Just before I hit the ground, a panel of rock shot up off the ground and slammed into me, sending me floating into the air. Chein-Shin made more hand signs and said, "_Earth Style Ninja Art: Vector Manipulation!_" Tiny pieces of rubble that broke off of the panel then shot at me, embedding themselves in my back and sending blood spattering from my body. Chein-Shin smiled triumphantly, but his eyes then widened as I disappeared in a puff of smoke. The sound of electricity made him look behind him, and I rammed a _Chidori_ into his back, driving him down towards the ground.

Even moments from death he tried to make the hand signs for the _Vector Manipulation_, but I made my own one-handed sign and said, "_Lightning Style: Thunder Bullet!_" I fired my _Chidori_ straight through his body, making him spit out blood, and the _Thunder Bullet_ crashed into the ground and shot electricity off of everything within ten feet of it. Chein-Shin dropped straight into the electric field, and he was violently electrocuted, leaving me without a doubt that he was dead. I landed at a kneel right next to him, dispersing the electricity, and I rose back up to look down at him. Chein-Shin was sprawled across the ground, blood pouring out of his mouth, and his eyes were wide open, but they were empty of life.

_It's a good thing I managed to get him before he had the chance to release his puppet,_ I thought to myself as I looked at the small scroll at his waist.

[Matt's point-of-view] Seiko jumped back to avoid a giant wave of sand that followed him as he went, and he then ran straight up the wall with the sand in hot pursuit. He leaped away just before the sand would have smashed him, and Gaara pulled his hand back, making it shoot a dozen needles of sand at Seiko. Seiko flipped through the air to avoid the _Sand Shower_, and he then pulled his Ranritsu to his side, which opened its mouth and spat out twenty silver needles down at Gaara. A wall of sand sprung up in front of him to block the needles, and he then sent that up at Seiko as well, with the original wave coming in from behind him. Both waves crashed into him, and Ranritsu dropped down and smashed to pieces on the ground.

The combined wave threw Seiko down, and he smashed into the ground right next to the remains of his puppet. Before the dust cloud from the impact had even cleared, Ranritsu slowly repaired itself, and Seiko stepped out of the cloud. "Keep doing that for a few more minutes," I said to Gaara, and I then leaped off.

"Gladly," Gaara said, and he stretched his arm out towards Seiko, and his sand came down on top of him from all sides.

Seiko looked around at all of the sand, and he then said, "It appears the time for games has come to an end." He made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style Puppet Jutsu: Five Great Floods!_" Five small compartments opened up on Ranritsu's back, and a giant torrent of water shot out of each one. The five torrents circled around Seiko and Ranritsu, knocking back the sand until it was sent flying all across he room. Gaara was forced to shield his eyes, but when he looked again, the five torrents had taken the shapes of dragons, and were hovering around Seiko and Ranritsu, waiting for Seiko to give the attack order.

"What kind of jutsu is that?" Gaara asked.

"I actually just picked this up before the two of you arrived. It was inscribed in the Book of the Gods," Seiko explained. Gaara put his hands out to either side of him, and sand exploded up from the ground, and the _Five Great Floods_ charged forward to intercept it. The water pressure blew right through the sand, and one of the dragons rammed into Gaara and knocked him off his feet, sending him crashing into the wall behind him. The _Five Great Floods_ all came down on top of him, but a ball of fire flew over and crashed into one, causing a massive explosion that blasted it back. Four more fireballs crashed into the other four, and the combined explosions sent a massive burst of fire across half the room. When the flames cleared, Gaara's sand cocoon broke, and he looked around to see who had saved him.

I used my feet to spring off the wall, and Seiko was caught in a massive, fiery explosion that blasted him down and into the ground. Another explosion caught him immediately after he hit, and I appeared next to Gaara, squatted down with an aura of white-hot flame surrounding me. "What…is this?" Gaara said with wide eyes.

"It's called _Fire Style: Fire God Jutsu_," I explained to him.

"That's quite an interesting technique you've got there. Where on earth did you pick it up?" Seiko asked as he walked out of the flames that were gushing out of the ground.

"Dude," I said to him with a smile, "we're surrounded on all sides by thousands upon thousands of forbidden jutsu."

"So you're really telling me that you picked it up in the two minutes that I was squabbling with that Gaara fellow?" Seiko asked skeptically.

I simply smiled at him.

"Okay then. It looks like I was right in assuming you possessed the _Rinnegan_. Although since I don't see it present in you right now, I'm guessing that means it's still dormant. Very well, then. It's time we ended this once and for all," he said as he prepared his Ranritsu.

I braced myself, and I was right behind Seiko with my fire-engulfed fist raised. A fiery explosion tore across the ground, and Seiko flew up out of the smoke cloud that resided with his Ranritsu defending him. Three fireballs shot out of the smoke cloud, and before Seiko could do anything about it, they all smashed into him and engulfed him in a giant cloud of fire. He dropped out of it in a trail of smoke, and I shot down at him with my fist raised. I almost instantly closed the gap between the two of us, but just before I could ram him with my fist, metal spikes shot out of all sides of his body, grazing my arm and leg and forcing me to back off. As soon as he was clear of me, all of the spikes shot out from his body, dozens of them flying off in every direction.

Then, they all exploded violently, engulfing the entire room in flames and bright light. When the light cleared, fire crawled up every wall and along the entire wall. There were giant craters punched in the walls, and what remained was crumbling, on the verge of collapsing altogether. A mound of sand drizzled away to reveal Gaara, panting heavily, with cracks in his _Sand Armor_ going all across his body. Another mound of sand drizzled away as well, revealing myself sitting on the ground, panting as well, with blood and burns all over me. Regardless, I rose to my feet and looked around for Seiko. I finally found him standing on the ceiling, with not one, but two puppets at his side. The second one looked like a giant, metal porcupine, with spikes coming out of its back and four legs.

"His name is Yamaarashi," Seiko told me.

"Yeah? And is he another one of your human puppets?" I asked.

"Hah! Don't be ridiculous, does he even look like a human? No, this is a puppet that I constructed myself in my spare time," he explained.

At that moment, Gaara rose to his feet and summoned his sand around him. "No matter how many puppets you have, we'll tear them apart piece by piece," he called up to Seiko.

"You're more than welcome to try," Seiko said with a hidden smile. Gaara sent a wave of sand up at Seiko, but his Yamaarashi fired three spikes from its front leg down at it, and as soon as the spikes hit, they exploded with so much force that the sand was completely incinerated.

"Damn," Gaara said softly.

_I don't have anywhere near enough chakra for another _Fire God Jutsu_, _I thought to myself. I then made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I spat my fireball up at Seiko, but he leaped out of the way, taking his puppets with him.

While he flew through the air, he made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Giant Liquid Bullets!_" His Ranritsu fired out three giant balls of water, and I was completely helpless to dodge.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Giant Air Shield!_" The air around me condensed into a twenty-foot-radius shield that blocked all of the water, sending it splashing to the ground away from me.

"_Sand Shuriken!_" Four balls of sand shot through the air and came at Seiko, but he leaped out of the way. The _Sand Shuriken_ followed him through the air, until his Ranritsu fired _Liquid Bullets_ down to intercept them. An arm of sand grabbed Seiko's ankle, and then threw him down into the ground. When the dust from the impact cleared, he was kneeling on the ground with blood running down his face.

He made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style Puppet Jutsu: Five Great Floods!_" The five dragon-shaped streams of water burst out of Ranritsu's back, and three of them shot down at Gaara while the other two came down at me. Gaara leaped into the air, allowing two of the dragons to collide into the ground, and he gathered a cloud of sand under his feet, which he used to keep himself elevated while the third dragon shot back up at him. He swerved to the side of the final dragon, allowing it to fly past him, and he shot down at Seiko with his hand in the water. He then pointed his cloud of sand at him and fired a barrage of needles down at him. Seiko leaped out of the way, allowing the needles to fly into the ground.

One of the remaining two dragons smashed into the ground, and I appeared ten feet away, running away from it as the fifth one bared down at me. I disappeared in a burst of speed just before it hit the ground, and I came out fifty feet in the air. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and shot down at Seiko, forming a _Chidori _in my hand for when I got to him. Seiko made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!_" All of the water that had splashed across the ground formed a dozen water dragons that all shot up at me as I descended. The nearest one to me was intercepted by a wall of sand that knocked it back, causing the water to deform and drop to the ground. The other dragons succumbed to the same fate as I came down at Seiko, who put his Yamaarashi out to intercept me.

The puppet rolled up into a ball so that its spikes pointed in all directions, but I flew around it and continued coming at Seiko. His Ranritsu sprouted wrist blades, with which it shot up to intercept me, but I shattered both blades with my _Chidori_. I then tore my jutsu through Seiko's body, but he then turned to water and splashed through the air. That was when I noticed his Yamaarashi, spinning in place. Seiko's voice rang out, "_Puppet Jutsu: Raining Damnation!_" All of the spikes on the puppet shot down at me, making my eyes widen in horror. Just before they hit me, a giant wall of sand rose up in front of me to intercept them, and all of the spikes stuck in it, and then detonated.

The combined explosions blasted the wall apart and shrouded half the room in smoke. I flew out of the smoke cloud and rolled across the ground, but then immediately came to a kneel, looking up at Seiko. I had more blood on me from all of the explosions, but that was by far better than the alternative. Seiko was standing on a wall, and he sent his Ranritsu down at me, shooting silver needles out of its mouth as it came. I jumped out of the way of the needles as they hit the ground, and a wave of sand smashed into Ranritsu, driving it back and engulfing it in a cocoon of sand. Gaara closed his fingers into a fist and said, "_Sand Burial!_" The sand crushed Ranritsu into pieces beyond repair, making Seiko yell in anger. A rushing sound made him look above him to see me standing on the ceiling with a _Rasengan_ raised, and I shot down at him.

Three of Yamaarashi's spikes pierced me and stopped me cold, but I disappeared in a puff of smoke. Another wave of sand shot up and caught Seiko around the leg, taking him by surprise and leaving him open for the sand to completely engulf him, with a line of it coming back down to Gaara. I was standing right next to him, and I made four hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a wave of intense fire onto the line of sand, which raged up at Seiko, who was helpless to do anything. The fire hit his cocoon and caused a giant explosion of pure fire, sending tendrils of flame cascading across the room. Yamaarashi, who was poised on a nearby wall, dropped down and smashed apart against the ground. Seiko dropped out of the fiery cloud, and he crashed into the ground, then bounced across it into the wall.

"I think we got him," I said to Gaara with a triumphant smile.

"Go make sure. I'll cover you," he told me.

"Right," I responded. I leaped through the air and flew over to Seiko, walking the last couple of steps and bending down next to him. I checked his pulse, and in spite of the fact that I didn't feel anything, I made one final _Chidori_ and rammed it into his heart. Several sets of footsteps made me look around at the entrance into the room. Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Kankuro, and Temari walked through and jumped down to the ground. My team walked over to me, while Gaara's walked over to him.

"You okay?" Kankuro asked him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Gaara answered.

"You had us really worried," Temari informed him. "You guys had the entire building shaking."

"Don't worry, I'm okay, I promise," Gaara assured her with a smile.

"Well…looks like it's over," Kakashi said. He looked right into my eyes, and in that exchange of glances, I saw the only thing that his eyes had to show: pride.

"Nice job!" Naruto said as he clapped me on the back.

My eyes and jaw widened, and my body tensed up.

"Uhh," Naruto said, looking at me with wide eyes.

After a moment of standing there like that, I uttered the word, "Hurt." And I then dropped to the ground.

"Oh, no!" Sakura said, and she dropped down next to me, putting her hands on my chest. Her palms became surrounded in green chakra as she began healing my wounds.

"But…but…what happened?" Naruto asked, looking down at me in confusion. Sakura growled and said, "You idiot! He just got done with the fight of his life, and then you go and hit him some more! Only you would be that stupid Naruto, I tell ya!" Another set of footsteps made the three of them look around and see Tsunade walking over to us.

She looked around at the remains of the room and said, "My, my. You've done quite a bit of damage to this place, haven't you?"

"Uh, yeah. We might have gone a little overboard," Naruto said guiltily, looking down and to the left and having his hand on the back of his head.

"Yes, well…guess who gets to clean it up," she said with a last-laugh smile.

"What!" Naruto said in horror, clearly hoping he had misheard.

She then turned around to leave and said, "Kakashi, I need to talk to you about something."

"Right," Kakashi said, and he obediently followed her out of the room.

"See ya," said Kankuro with a wave, and he and his siblings made to follow them.

"Hey!" Naruto said.

"Naruto, I need to heal him, so you're gonna need to clean this mess up yourself," Sakura said, clearly still angry with him.

"Wait a minute!" Naruto said, becoming more and more horror-riddled by the second.

And that's where this story ends. It's true that when the balance of power present in the world is threatened, someone must step up and fight it. If evil were to ever get there hands on such power, it could mean the end of life as we know it. But there will always be someone there to help restore what is right. Rather it be in fiction, or in real life, the characters of each individual story are unique, and it is that uniqueness that makes those stories work. In the darkest of times, it may seem like all hope is lost, but as long as one defiant breath remains, there will always be a chance to turn things around.

[_Third-person point-of-view_] Seiko's slayers were displayed in a television screen, while a man with long, red hair watched them. "Seiko, Seiko, Seiko," the man said condescendingly. "You try to take on an apprentice, and they just end up getting killed." With that, he rose from his chair and walked to the back of the dark room. He pressed a button on the wall, which opened up a hidden door. Inside this tiny closet was a man sitting against the wall, his eyes open and staring blankly, fresh from having just been killed. "Now, then," said the man, "Lord Third Kazekage. How would you like to be the most recent addition to my…collection?"

* * *

Thank you for taking the time to read this all the way to the end. Seriously, you have no idea how much it means to me; you guys rock. I'll be posting one of these during each of Naruto Chronicles's anniversaries, and they will all be roughly as long as this one.


	49. Chapter 48: A New Battle

Season Three Premier:

A NEW BATTLE

A massive explosion destroyed half of the hideout, burying me completely in rubble. It took me a few seconds to realize what had just happened, but when I did, I busted my way out to see where he had went. I looked around, then spotted him standing on the roof of the hideout. He was looking down at me with a careless look on his face, his hand on his waist. He had long black hair, which framed the side of his face, onyx eyes, a white long-sleeved shirt that was open at the chest, some blue cloth wrapped around his waist tied in place with a purple rope, and black pants. I began to formulate a counterattack against him, but before I could even begin to think, he was right in front of me with his elbow aimed at my stomach. "Gah!" I went flying back and smashed into one of the boulders that was previously part of the hideout.

I rose to my hands and knees, one hand wrapped around my stomach where he had hit me. _How did he do that? I'm not even that fast._ He reached around his back to his belt and grasped the handle of his sword, which he pulled out and held it at his side. I got back to my feet and pulled out a kunai, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't going to do much good against him. It looked like everything they had said about him back in the Leaf Village was true, in fact, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was even stronger now. "So, this is what you're capable of, eh…Sasuke…Uchiha?" In the blink of an eye, he appeared at my side, his elbow on my shoulder.

"I don't know who you are, but I can sense a lot of talent in you. I should kill you now, otherwise, you might cause trouble for me later," he said to me, still with the same careless look on his face as he raised his sword.

"Well…what are you waiting for?" I asked, and he brought his sword around with the tip coming at my back.

The bell rang, and I was headed to my next class at DuBray Middle School. I was in seventh grade now, and it was horrible. There was all kinds of homework, I was running to six different classes a day like a chicken with my head cut off, and I could never just sit and relax. If I wasn't working on work, I was taking notes. Now, it was lunch, and I could finally just sit back and relax for a precious half-hour and eat some food. Right now, I was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with "VANS" printed on it, going from the top to the bottom, along with worn-out, dark blue-jeans. I didn't sit with anyone in particular, mainly because I didn't like anyone in particular, and they didn't like me. But it didn't matter; if they had any clue what I truly was, they'd be begging me to be their friend.

It had been six months since I had returned from the Hidden Leaf, and I was now living a quiet, normal life. As it was, I was just some nerdy kid who everyone liked to pick on. Their main insult was the fact that I had a big head, which has been that way since birth; it was in the genes. I wasn't really expecting anyone to talk to me, so I got a little bit of a shock when someone sat down next to me.

"Hey, Matt." Her name was Nichole Schroeder, and she was one of my only friends at DuBray, and whom I had known since fourth grade.

"Oh, hey Nichi," I said. "What's up?"

"Well, it's just that…I noticed you were gone for the last few months of sixth grade, where were you?" she asked with a curious look on her face.

"Oh…" I said, not entirely sure how to answer this. I flashed back to those months that I had spent in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. "Uh, I moved," I lied quickly. "Yeah, I moved for a little while. I'm back now."

She smiled curiously like she didn't believe me, and I began to sweat. "Oh, that's cool," she said finally, and she got up and left. I sighed in relief and continued eating my lunch, then went to continue the rest of my day. I waited for Mr. Shoemaker to pop up and try to kill me, but he had long since disappeared from DuBray Middle; I made sure by going up to the office and asking.

When the school day ended, I went back home, turned on the television, and watched some random show that I really paid no attention to. The next day, everything started out normally, but then went completely awry around third hour. I was in Communication Arts class, and the teacher was talking about some random thing, and I was about ready to pass out. Right in the middle of class, the door to the room burst open and someone ran in. "Hey, Matt!" He had blonde, spiky hair, bright-blue eyes, and was wearing entirely orange.

"N-Naruto!" I said, slightly in shock that he had just come barging into the room.

"Excuse me, I'm sort of in the middle of a class here, young man!" the teacher said angrily, and the class started laughing.

"What is it?" I asked, ignoring all the laughter.

"We need you back at the Hidden Leaf," he answered, and I immediately ran over to him, and we both ran towards the entrance of the school.

We didn't stop when the lady at the front desk said, "Wait, stop!" and just kept on running.

We stopped about a hundred yards away from the school, and Naruto said, "You ready?"

"Yeah." We both made a hand sign and disappeared in puffs of smoke.

We came out at a colossal gate baring the _kanji_ for _Leaf Village_. Inside the gate was the Village Hidden in the Leaves, a small village with many different-colored buildings, teaming with people, and at the back, under the Great Stone Mountain baring the faces of all the Hokage, was the Hokage's mansion, inside which was the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, and her assistant Shizune.

"Glad to be back?" Naruto asked, and I noticed that he had been watching me looking around.

"Don't know. Guess it depends on why I'm here," I answered, silently asking Naruto just why it was that I was here.

"Couldn't tell ya'," Naruto answered, "Grandma Tsunade just told me to come and get you, and so, here I am."

"Oh. Okay then. Let's go see what she wants," I suggested, and we both headed for the Hokage's mansion. "Long time, no see, Matt." We walked in and were immediately greeted by a man with long and spiky silver hair, blue sweatshirt, blue sweats, green flak jacket, a face mask, and a headband covering his left eye with a metal plate baring the Hidden Leaf symbol. "Hey, Kakashi!" I said, glad to see my old teacher. Next to him was a girl with pink hair, red tank-top, and navy-blue skirt. "Hey, Sakura," I said.

Before she could answer, Tsunade intervened, "Alright, let's save the reunion for later, this is another A-Rank mission, and…it's related to your first A-Rank." Sakura gasped, Naruto's eyes widened, and I flashed back to the first mission I had ever gotten. We had been looking for the Leaf Ninja-turned-rogue Sasuke Uchiha, but never found him. If Tsunade was saying what I thought she was saying, we were about to be given another chance. "That's right. You're mission is to find and retrieve Sasuke Uchiha," Tsunade concluded.

"Okay, well, where do we start looking?" I asked. Sasuke could have been anywhere, we at least needed a specific area where we could begin to look.

"Hm. Haven't a clue," Tsunade said.

"Whaddaya mean you don't have a clue? So we're supposed to just look around the world and see if something comes up?" I said irately.

"Of course not, are you kidding me?" she said, and I became even more confused. "Jiraiya, why don't you explain?" She looked over to her open window, where a man jumped down and landed on the roof. He was about fifty-years-old, very big, and had long white hair dropping down to about his knees.

"Pervy-Sage!" Naruto said in surprise.

"Good to see you, too, kid," Jiraiya said, seemingly taking offense to this nickname. "Anyways, I've received some intel that some of Orochimaru's followers are traveling to an unknown location, and it's believed that Orochimaru and Sasuke Uchiha are corralled up there," Jiraiya explained. At first, I wondered who this Orochimaru was, but then I remembered Naruto saying he was the one Sasuke had gone to after leaving the Leaf.

"Okay, and where are these followers?" I asked. "Right now, they're lying low somewhere outside the Hidden Rain Village. It seems they're going to be moving out again in a day, towards the northeast, back through the Land of Fire, and towards the Hidden Sound Village, the village founded by Orochimaru himself after he defected from the Leaf. You would do best to move in a way so that you intercept them, and then follow them to their destination. Don't let them catch you though, or it's game over," Jiraiya warned.

"Right, so when do we move out?" I asked.

"At this time tomorrow," Tsunade said. "You will take this time to prepare, and then you will head out, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and I said as one. We all left the mansion, Naruto going with Sakura, and Kakashi and I going our own separate ways. I went back to my old house that I had slept in the first time I had come to the Leaf, and searched around it. I couldn't remember where I had put it, but the house wasn't that big, so it had to be around here somewhere. I finally found it in a kitchen drawer, and laid it out on the table. It was a scroll containing instructions on how to perform all kinds of _Fire Style Jutsu_. I knew five jutsu from the scroll out of the roughly seventy that were in here. I wondered if I really had time to learn one more, and, figuring there was no point in not trying, I went outside and started practicing.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Sakura and I were at the local ramen shop, talking about the possibilities of finding Sasuke.

"So…how good do you think our chances are?" I asked her, my eyes on my food.

After a long pause, she said, "Don't know. Following Orochimaru's henchmen should be easy enough, but when we actually get to the hideout, we'll probably have to fight an army of his followers, plus Orochimaru himself, not to mention…"

She didn't need to complete that thought; I knew exactly what she was saying. Sasuke had left the Hidden Leaf of his own free will. If and when we found him…I found it hard to believe that he would come back without a fight. And with all the jutsu Orochimaru had to have taught him since Sasuke came to him, he was bound to be ten times deadlier than ever before. I clenched my fist in desperation; I still couldn't believe that Sasuke had actually gone to Orochimaru for the sole purpose of gaining power. "Well…with the extra support of you, Matt, and Kakashi-sensei, I have no doubt in my mind that we'll be able to bring him back!" I said to her.

[Sakura's point-of-view] I looked at Naruto, surprised by his confident tone, and was even more surprised to see the confident expression on his face. I didn't really know what to say, so I just looked down at my bowl of ramen. _Naruto…thank you._

[Matt's point-of-view] "Well…" I panted with a smile, "looks like I've got that one good to go!" I was impressed by how quickly I had learned it, as I looked at the giant, burning crater thirty feet in diameter set into the grass.

A day later found myself, Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and Tsunade at the Hidden Leaf Gate. Naruto was wearing an orange jacket with black sleeves, shoulders, and raised collar with a black stripe going down the zipper, and then the same pants as usual. Sakura had switched from her navy skirt to black shorts, and was also wearing black, knee-length boots.

"Just send word, and I'll send a back-up squad running," Tsunade assured Kakashi.

"Right. Considering who our opponent is, we just might need it," he replied.

"Well, at any rate, good luck to you. May the Will of Fire be with you," Tsunade concluded.

As we set out, I whispered to Naruto, "Isn't it supposed to be 'May the _Force_ be with you?'"

"What?" he said, looking confused. "No, the Will of Fire is what bonds every shinobi in the Hidden Leaf, and makes them want to protect those they care about. You'll understand some day," he assured me, which left me more confused then I was to begin with.

_Well,_ I thought to myself, _I guess this is it. I'm about to see just how strong this Sasuke Uchiha really is. I'd be lying if I didn't say…I'm looking forward to this…._


	50. Chapter 49: Departure

DEPARTURE

Before I even realized it, the Hidden Leaf Gate was out of sight, and we were on our way to retrieve Sasuke. Despite whatever my shaking legs said, I was actually kind of interested in meeting him, if for nothing else than finding out why he left the Hidden Leaf. Sakura and Naruto were talking about him, but I didn't really listen to anything they were saying. Kakashi was completely quiet, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking. I knew what I was thinking though; if and when I found him, I really hoped I wasn't alone, because I wasn't entirely sure if I could win.

"Hey, Kakashi, where are we going?" I asked.

"Well, as Lord Jiraiya said, the people we're pursuing are just outside the Hidden Rain Village, which is due west of the Hidden Leaf. Our best bet is to search in the forests around that village for anything suspicious, and if we don't find anything, I guess just head northeast and try to catch up with them," he answered.

"Wait, why don't we just ask the Hidden Rain if they've seen anything?" I asked.

"Because, the Hidden Rain is a very closed-up village. They search you thoroughly upon entry, run background checks, and interrogate you upon your arrival, and then keep you under constant surveillance through the course of your stay. While under normal circumstances this wouldn't be anything but a pain in the neck, it takes almost a full day to get to the Hidden Rain, and we're pressed for time. Besides, I'd be amazed if the Hidden Rain provided us with any descent information anyways," he added in an undertone.

"Hm? Why?"

"Because, the Hidden Rain and the Hidden Leaf aren't exactly the best of friends. In a few skirmishes during the Great Shinobi World Wars, the Hidden Rain was used as a battlefield, leaving the village in ruins. I'm not saying I don't understand their anger, but it doesn't change the fact that they don't like us that much."

"Oh," I said, also understanding the Hidden Rain's anger. While we traveled, we ran straight into a rainstorm, drenching us in seconds. I was silent for the rest of the journey, until we came to a cliff overlooking a village. It was very industrialized, with hundreds of tall skyscrapers, radio towers, and other miscellaneous objects. "Is that…?" I asked.

"Yep, that's the Village Hidden in the Rain," Kakashi answered.

"Halt!" We turned around to three Hidden Rain ninja standing there, each holding kunai. "I am Amemaru, Head of the Foreign Danger Response Team of the Hidden Rain. Why have you come to the Hidden Rain, Leaf ninja?" one of them asked threateningly.

"Forgive me, I didn't intend to cause a stir," Kakashi said. "You see, we were sent on a mission to track some shinobi who were said to be lying low somewhere outside this village. Um, you wouldn't happen to know anything, would you?" Kakashi asked politely, although he still seemed doubtful.

Amemaru considered him for a moment, then said, "We know nothing of this. You may continue your search, however, we will be escorting you as you do so." This last part, I could tell, was not a request.

Kakashi sighed exasperatedly and said, "Very well, come on." We all headed out again, making sure to take a wide path around the Hidden Rain Village, until Kakashi said abruptly, "Stop!" Sakura, Naruto, the Rain ninja and I stopped on tree branches while Kakashi landed on the ground.

"Hm? What is it?" Amemaru asked obnoxiously.

"Well, instead of wasting time trying to search how many dozens of square miles, I think it would be best if we split up," Kakashi said.

"Tch!" I immediately saw why the ninja weren't happy about this; there were only three of them and four of us. Kakashi took out a kunai, cut his thumb open, and made some hand signs. He slammed his palm on the ground, where a black, circular seal appeared, centered around the palm. "_Summoning Jutsu!_" A puff of smoke as tall as Kakashi, but three times as wide appeared, and my mouth dropped at what came out of it. A herd of eight dogs were standing there, all panting and wagging their tales excitedly. The only breeds I could identify were a huge bulldog sitting in the center, and a little pug sitting on top of it.

"Hey, Kakashi," the pug said. I was only mildly surprised by the fact that this dog could talk, considering I had met a huge (as in the-size-of-a-building-huge) toad that wielded a sword and an obnoxious attitude, and could also speak.

"Hello, Pakkun," Kakashi greeted the pug. "I have a task that you guys can help me with. We're looking for a group of ninja hiding away somewhere, and we have roughly three hours to find them."

"Okay, so who's teamed up with who?" Pakkun asked, and I began to wonder what he meant.

"I will be on my own. Pakkun, you go with Naruto. Bull, you go with Sakura," Kakashi ordered. The pug walked over to Naruto, and the two greeted each other like old friends, which I had to guess they were. The huge bulldog lumbered over to Sakura, who petted him on the head. "Matt, you'll be on your own, and if you find anything, or you need help, just send up a flare, and we'll come running. Naruto, Sakura, if either of you find anything or need help, Pakkun or Bull will bark, and we'll all come running to you. You hear that Matt? If you hear a bark, head in that direction. A hound will be sent to you to guide you on your way," Kakashi told me. "Alright, ready?" he said.

"Hold on!" We all looked over at the Rain ninja, and Amemaru said, "Before any of this, we're going to have to call reinforcements." He called down a bird and pulled out a tiny scroll, a paintbrush, and ink.

"Uh, that won't be necessary," Kakashi, said, clearly annoyed now.

"Oh, yes, we know how you Leaf Ninja work. You build up your numbers and split up to try and head us off, and then you sneak into the Hidden Rain, and wreak havoc!" Amemaru said obnoxiously.

"Where in the he-" I started, but Kakashi put his hand out to silence me.

"I said that won't be necessary," he said, and he made a hand sign. The Rain Ninjas' eyes widened, and then glazed over into a dull and dreamy look.

"Right. We'll go back to our village now. Good luck on your search," Amemaru said dreamily, and they all turned around and leaped off back towards the Rain. "What did you do?" I asked, staring after them in amazement.

"Genjutsu," Kakashi said, which summed it up for me. Genjutsu was jutsu that affected the target's mind, making them see or think what the user wanted. It took the utmost precise chakra control, in other words, I didn't know any. We all spread out, each going in different directions, but all sticking close to the Hidden Rain. At first, I headed northeast, because that seemed to be the best chance of finding them, but Kakashi had already taken that direction, and said, "I'll take it this way, why don't you go up north?" And so, I turned around and headed up north. I hopped through endless trees, my legs getting more and more tired with every jump, until I had to finally stop and rest. I landed at a riverbed with a small stream running from a waterfall, and went over to it.

I took my shoes and socks off and waded in, the cold water doing wonders for my blisters and calluses. At first, I wanted to keep this as quick as I could, but eventually I just said _Screw it_ and dropped. I threw all my weapons onto the shore except for a knife, which I stuck through my shorts and into the rocky bottom to keep me from floating away while I stretched my arms behind my head and relaxed. I considered taking a nap, but then a huge wave of water washed over me, nearly drowning me, and I was sitting up, gasping and sputtering, in complete shock from this sudden attack. After I could move again, I looked around and saw Sakura and Bull standing there, the former looking at me with a not-so-happy look.

I looked down in front of me and saw a huge boulder sitting in the river that most certainly had not been there before. I looked over at Sakura and said, "What?" but she and Bull just jumped off. For a few seconds, I just sat there, trying to figure out what was so wrong with taking a breather, especially when we had nine other teams out there looking for these people. Eventually, I got to my feet, waded to the shore, and put on my socks, shoes, and weapons holsters. I shivered slightly from the cold water, but leaping through the forest again cured that in no time, along with my lack of blisters and calluses. Eventually, I came up on a cave set into a cliff, and I knew I had found them. I went around to the side of the cliff and crept around so as not to be detected, and pulled out a kunai. I stopped just beside the entrance of the cave, listening for voices, but heard nothing.

It looked like they already knew I was here. I threw myself into the entrance, completely forgetting the fact that we were supposed to _follow_ them, _not_ engage, and nearly had a heart attack when I did remember. Luckily (which is putting it mildly), the entrance to the cave was completely abandoned. Unluckily (or at least as far as I was concerned), the cave traveled back deep into darkness, meaning they still might be in here. "Tch! Wonderful!" I said as I pulled out a flashlight and switched it on. I traveled deeper and deeper into the cave, taking careful note of where I went so I wouldn't be lost when I wanted to come back out. I ducked down, got on my knees, waded through mud, and ducked flocks of bats, getting more and more frustrated along the way. I wiped the blood from my scraped knees, and shined the flashlight around the massive room I was in.

It had stalactites and stalagmites, crystal formations, and a small lake towards the back. I looked along the walls, ceiling, and floor, but didn't see any other way out. Right when I was about to turn around, my flashlight went out. "Fantastic." I rummaged around in my supply holster for my extra batteries, cussing and fussing during the process, and when I finally found them, I sighed in relief and switched them out for the old ones. The moment the lid of my flashlight was closed, a series of sniffs, followed by an angry growl sounded behind me. I switched my flashlight on, too scared to speak, and turned around quickly. I shuddered in fear at the humongous brown bear, small beady eyes full of anger, and a mouth full of very sharp teeth, standing two feet away from me.

I stood there in shock for a few seconds, and then turned around and ran away screaming, my arms flailing madly above my head. The bear was in hot pursuit, so I ran in a wide circle, and headed for the exit, the bear right on my heels. I finally dived behind a huge stalagmite, and the bear ran right on past me, making me clutch my hand over my heart, feeling it pounding against my chest. When I was sure that the bear was gone, I walked out from behind the stalagmite and crept towards the exit, peering carefully around corners before I turned.

When I finally got to the exit of the cave, I sighed in relief and continued searching for whoever it was we were looking for. I stopped abruptly on a cliff, my heart beating madly, and looked down at another cave, with five people sitting inside it. I made a few hand signs, turned around, and fired a tiny fireball into the air. When it hit above the forest, the fireball exploded, sending even smaller fireballs in every direction. I smiled, relieved at the fact that no one in the cave had seen the fireball. All I had to do now was wait for everyone else, and we would pursue them back to Orochimaru and Sasuke.

After about five seconds, three massive explosions blew the cliff apart, sending me flying into the wall of the cave above the entrance, and then dropping, landing on the ground right outside. "Blast, we've been spotted!" one of the guys in the cave said, and the five of them leaped off, making me tap my finger on the ground in irritation. I looked up to what was left of the cliff and saw Amemaru, along with about a dozen other guys, with Amemaru glaring furiously down at me.

"Leaf ninja! You are under arrest for conspiring against the Hidden Rain!"


	51. Chapter 50: Leaf vs Rain

LEAF VS RAIN

I looked up at Amemaru, slightly startled by how angry the head ninja looked. "Are you high, or are you just deaf!" I yelled up at them, very irritated.

"Hah! Don't play that game with me, Leaf scum! It's obvious to everyone here that you plan to overthrow the Hidden Rain, and we will put a stop to it!"

"Alright, that's it, I've had enough of you!" I said, and I sprung my trap. A _Shadow Clone_ came down from above with a kunai, ready to take out Amemaru, but he turned around, landed his foot in its stomach, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Now you've done it," he said loathingly to me, yet with an evil smile on his face. They all lobbed about fifty kunai down at me, and I knew there was no way I could dodge them, but luckily, I didn't need to. Kakashi appeared right in front of me, taking all of the kunai, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke and came out as a log. The real Kakashi appeared in front of the log, facing the Rain ninja with a careless stance.

"What seems to be the problem here?" he asked them calmly.

"Do not give me that, scum! You have put into motion a plot to take over the Hidden Rain!" Amemaru replied

"Hm? Where do you get that idea?" Kakashi asked.

"Don't toy with me! You cast a genjutsu on us so you could sneak around the Hidden Rain and look for a weak point to take us on!"

Kakashi sighed exasperatedly and said, "Come on, fellas, are we really going to have to settle this with violence?"

"That depends, are you going to come quietly?" Amemaru asked as the Rain ninja all pulled out more kunai.

"Hey!" Naruto and Sakura landed at Kakashi's side, pulling out kunai and preparing to join the fray.

"You three go on," Kakashi said. "I can handle this, you catch up to Orochimaru's men."

I didn't wait to be told twice as I leaped up into the trees and headed off into the direction that the five guys had gone. Naruto quickly followed, but Sakura looked at Kakashi in concern, and he assured her by saying, "Don't worry, I'll catch up to you in a few minutes; I promise." After that, she followed us and we continued our pursuit of Orochimaru's men.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "Well? Are you coming?" I said to them, fully prepared for whatever they had in store.

"You asked for it!" Amemaru said as five of his men dived down at me with kunai.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a huge fireball out of my mouth at them, but they all turned out to be _Water Clones_ and splashed to the ground as regular water.

"_Ninja Art: Senbon Rainstorm!_" A shower of thin needles rained down on top of me, piercing every inch of my body, but I disappeared in a puff of smoke and came out a log. The guy who had fired the _Senbon Rainstorm_ came flying out of the trees and landed on the ground, writhing in pain. I landed right next to him, waiting for more confrontation, but it seemed the rest were reluctant to come forth.

"What are you waiting for? _Get him!_" Amemaru ordered, but stepping back some all the same. Finally, someone appeared behind me with a kunai raised, but I jumped out of the way and landed on a tree. Another guy came at me, and I jumped out of the way again so he went smashing through the tree. I blocked three kunai that had been thrown from below and landed in another tree above all of the other ninja, aggravating Amemaru. He threw a fire-kunai up at me which landed in the tree I was standing on directly below me, so I jumped out of the way, letting the branches knocked loose from the explosion rain down on top of them. I flew through the air, making sure to keep them all in sight, when Amemaru appeared above me with a kunai raised.

I landed my foot in his side, flipping him upside down, flipped upside down myself, grabbed him around the waist, and spun around, spiraling towards the ground. I smashed him headfirst into the ground and jumped away just before impact, sending dust and rubble everywhere, but when the dust cleared, there was water splashed across the rubble. I was still in the air when he came up behind me again, but I knocked his kunai out of his hand with my own kunai and ducked a tree branch while he flew over it, separating the two of us. I landed in one branch, and he landed in another ten feet away, the both of us waiting for a move from the other. I blocked a kunai that had been sent up from below and saw five guys flying up to me with knives.

While I had been distracted with that, Amemaru threw a kunai at me, but I saw it just in time to sway out of the way of it and leap into the air to avoid the other Rain ninja. They all landed on branches and leaped up after me again, ready to cut me to ribbons as I fell back to the ground again. I parried one knife, knocking that guy past me, landed my knee in another, letting him fall past me as well, and kicked another one to the side, leaving two more. I landed on the ground and ducked the stab from another guy from behind, then kicked him into the air and jumped up above him, landing my foot in the back of his head and sending him smacking back into the ground.

I landed at the base of a tree and they all surrounded me, waiting for the order from Amemaru. "What are you waiting for, men? Subdue him now and let the Rain punish him to its fullest extent!" he said, and they all charged me with kunai knives.

[Matt's point-of-view] I was kind of regretting leaving Kakashi alone to fight all those guys, but I reassured myself by saying that he wasn't the most famous jonin in the Hidden Leaf for nothing. He could handle himself. Meanwhile, Naruto, Sakura and I continued our pursuit of Orochimaru's men, although I wasn't entirely optimistic about finding them ever since the Rain ninja blew my cover. We leaped through trees, looking for the slightest trace of them, but after about a half-hour, we had to conclude that we had lost them.

"Great. Suppose we better go back and see how Kakashi's doing?" Naruto asked bitterly, and Sakura and I both agreed. We turned around and headed back the way we came, hoping Kakashi would have a solution to this. When we finally got back to where he was, I was only mildly surprised to see the bodies of the Hidden Rain ninja strewn all over the landscape with Kakashi sitting on a stump reading a book.

"Oh, hello," he said pleasantly when he saw us, as if he had just been traveling around in the forest for no apparent reason. We explained to him the situation, and Kakashi seemed only mildly concerned.

"Well, I think the Rain ninja were more to blame than anyone for that," he said, which made me mentally sigh in relief. "No matter, luckily, they left their scent all over the place," Kakashi said, and he nodded back to the cave where they had been staying, which was full of water bottles, food, sleeping bags, and other various objects. Kakashi cut his thumb with a kunai and made some hand signs, then slammed his palm on the ground. A summoning circle appeared around his palm, followed by a puff of smoke, out of which the pug Pakkun appeared.

"Well, long time, no see, guys," Pakkun said sarcastically.

"See that cave over there?" Kakashi said to Pakkun. "I want you to get the scent of the people we're looking for off of those items and track them for us."

Pakkun immediately trotted over to the cave, sniffed around for a few minutes, and then came back, saying, "I've got them!"

"Lead the way!" Naruto said, and Pakkun leaped off, followed by the rest of us. At first, I thought we would go in the direction that the three of us had initially went, but instead, we went in the complete opposite direction. Judging by the position of the sun, it looked like we were headed west.

"Wait, I thought Orochimaru's hideout was in the northeast!" I yelled to Kakashi, who was about twenty feet ahead of me.

"Well, their scents are in this direction, so that's where we're going," Pakkun shouted back, and I dropped it right there. We continued leaping through trees for what felt like hours, until Pakkun finally stopped abruptly. We all stopped on various branches, waiting for what Pakkun had to report. "They've stopped. They're just ahead of us, about a hundred yards," he said to us.

Kakashi jumped down onto Pakkun's branch and said, "I'll go on and scout out the situation, the rest of you stay here." We all did as we were told, while Kakashi went quietly forward and disappeared in the trees. We waited for about fifteen minutes until he came back, and I was startled to see the irritated look on his face. "They shed some of their clothes to throw us off the trail," he said bitterly.

"In other words, we lost them?" I asked, making Pakkun look down at his front paws guiltily.

"Basically," Kakashi said indignantly.

"So, what? We just go back to the Hidden Leaf and call it a failure?" I said, really hoping not.

"Of course not, Matt, we use our common sense to figure out that since they were initially headed northeast, and this was a diversion in the west, we can assume that they're going northeast now," he said irritably.

Kakashi kept Pakkun out so he could pick up on the scents if we got close and headed northeast, all of us hoping we could find them again. After about an hour of leaping through trees, I was about ready to drop. Kakashi saw this problem and stopped abruptly, making me almost slam into a tree branch. "Alright, we'll stop here for the night," Kakashi told us. I had no problems with that, but it seemed Naruto did, as he looked like he was about to argue, but when he saw how exhausted I was, he thought better of it. Kakashi cut his thumb open again and summoned the rest of his dogs, and I immediately knew what they were for.

"Pakkun, you and the rest of the hounds search for their scents in the east. Howl if you find anything." All eight dogs leaped off, and our chances of finding them again looked somewhat better. The four of us laid out our sleeping bags and Kakashi started a fire. I closed my eyes and immediately fell to sleep, completely disregarding the prospect that I might have to get up again any minute.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Matt was completely passed out, while Naruto and Sakura were both wide awake and looking worried. I couldn't say I blamed any of them. Sasuke was Naruto's and Sakura's former teammate, and Matt didn't even know the guy, so it was only natural that he didn't show as much concern. Eventually, Naruto and Sakura drifted off to sleep themselves, and I considered getting some shut-eye as well, but then a howl radiated through the air. Without bothering to wake the three of them, I got up and leaped off towards the howl.


	52. Chapter 51: Kakashi Steps Up

KAKASHI STEPS UP

I leaped through the trees toward where the howl had come from, making sure I wasn't being followed by my squad. When I got to where the hounds were, I was looking at a clearing in the trees, in the center of which stood a stone doorway leading underground. "Pakkun, you go back and wait for the others to wake up, and then bring them here. The rest of you, you may go back, thank you," I said to them. Pakkun leaped off back the way I had come, while the other dogs disappeared in puffs of smoke. I looked around for any signs of security, didn't find any, and walked cautiously over to the doorway. There didn't seem to be any traps, which surprised me. I guessed Orochimaru was pretty confident that his base would never be found.

I walked down the stairs of the doorway, checking for any security, found nothing, and continued on. I was about twenty feet into the base when I realized I had been detected a long time ago. About a dozen paper-bombs had been placed around the hallway, and I immediately turned around and headed for the exit, the chances of me making it on time looking iffy. I was at the staircase when the bombs detonated, and I made one giant leap up the staircase and through the exit, just barely making it out of the way of the explosion before it blasted out of the exit as well. Somehow, the doorway held, but I didn't have time to contemplate, as I turned around to face my opponents. There were five of them total, and I had to guess that these were the guys we had been tracking all this time.

"I'm only going to ask once; where is Orochimaru?" I said to them, to which they all laughed.

"Why would we tell you, Leaf rat?" one of them said.

"Hmm," I said, pulling out kunai, "it looks like I'll have to loosen your lips a little, eh?"

"Hah! Just try it!" the same guy said, and he pulled out a kunai and charged. We both exchanged slashes a few times, until I got around his guard and landed my knife in his gut. I knew I hadn't really gotten him, proven by the fact that he turned into a log, and the real one jumped down from the trees, amused that he had tricked me.

"Well, I don't like to make bad first impressions, so why don't we start with names?" I suggested, not really expecting anything.

"Alright, fine, I'm Katsuna Huromishe," the guy I had fought, who had shaggy brown hair down to his neck, said.

"I am Mikuro Otoma," another one with snow-white hair down to the middle of his back said.

"Tsuchigo Narami," said a heavyset man with neatly-kept, dull-brown hair.

"Kagona Ameko," introduced a man with brown hair that spiked out around his head.

"Igani Mokuro," concluded a man with short, blond hair that had the bangs spiked up.

"Well, what a pleasure to meet you all. I am Kakashi Hatake, and I'll be the one to bring you in," I said to them, only mildly concerned by what they could do.

"Kakashi, huh?" said Katsuna, "You wouldn't happen to be Kakashi of the _Sharingan_, would you?" he asked, referring to my moniker.

"That's right," I confirmed, and they all seemed to get much more interested.

"Alright, then, boys, imagine the fame we'll get by taking down the famous _Sharingan_ Warrior!" Katsuna said to his men, and they all smiled gleefully.

"Hmm. Good luck with that," I said, pulling out my kunai.

"Oh, don't worry, we don't need luck!" Katsuna said from right behind me, with a kunai raised. I was just barely able to jump out of the way, but Mikuro appeared right behind me in the air with a kunai of his own, and I turned around and countered him. I slashed at him several times, but he parried them all, and when we landed, we both jumped back from each other. I prepared to counter Katsuna, who I had expected to attack me from behind, but he leaped over me and rejoined the rest of his squad.

"Well? Is that really all you've got? It's going to take much more than a kunai if you want to even begin to match up to me," I warned them, and they all started laughing again.

"Do you really think we'd be fool enough to take you on without some tricks up our sleeves?" Katsuna said, and I waited patiently for whatever they had in store.

Tsuchigo was next to attack, and he made some hand signs while he ran, making me raise my kunai to defend myself. "_Earth Style: Crevasse Breaker!_" He stopped abruptly and placed his palm on the ground, where a crack formed winding its way to me to form a deep pit. I fell into it, making Tsuchigo yell in joy. A small part of the ground burst apart at his feet, and my hand appeared out of it, grabbing his ankle.

"_Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!_" I pulled him down, burying him in the rock up to his neck while I jumped up and looked down at him with a triumphant look.

"Tch! This isn't even nearly enough to stop me," he said. "_Earth Style: Buster Field!_" Recognizing the jutsu, I jumped back as the ground around him burst apart, allowing him to escape my trap and rejoin the quarrel.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired off a fireball out of my mouth at him, my face mask being fireproof. Tsuchigo jumped out of the way, and the fireball raged passed and blasted into a bunch of trees, uprooting some and igniting others. I jumped up after Tsuchigo with a kunai, and he pulled out a kunai of his own and waited for me to come. I slashed, he parried, I swung my foot at his side, he caught it and tossed me through the air like a rag doll, and I landed on a tree while he fell to the ground. I waited for someone else to come, but it was still Tsuchigo who threw a fire-kunai at me that I evaded.

"_Earth Style: Earth Eruption!_" I jumped out of the way to avoid the explosion of rock that would have broken every bone in my body, and when I landed, Tsuchigo charged me with his fist. I caught his thrust, but he wrenched his hand out of mine, so I jumped over him to throw him off, but he wasn't fooled. He spun around and landed his fist in my side, sending me flying back, but I regained my balance mid-flight, and landed perfectly on my feet, albeit having to slide across the ground. Tsuchigo charged me again, and I was kind of getting sick of his brute-force attacks, which left me hardly any time to come up with an attack of my own, but I was resigned to jumping out of the way again.

I landed on the side of a tree and threw some shuriken down at Tsuchigo, but he jumped out of the way of them and charged me again. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired a barrage of tiny fireballs down at Tsuchigo, but he jumped out of the way of them and dived down on top of me with his fist raised. I jumped out of the way and he smashed right through the tree, landing on the ground behind it just far enough out of the way to avoid the heavy tree. I came up behind him with a kunai, but he spun around to try and kick me in the stomach, but I blocked it with my arm. I jumped back to avoid any further attacks from him, but when I landed, he charged me again, making me, once more, completely unable to counter.

I ducked his fist, made some hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a fireball out of my mouth at him, and he took the full of it, but before the flames even cleared, a fist shot out of them, landing in my face, and sending me tearing through the ground and into a tree. I looked over at him, and he walked out of the flames perfectly unharmed, making me wonder what jutsu he possessed.

"_Earth Style: Spike Pit!_" He slammed his fist into the ground, where a series of cracks formed, making their way over to me, and I knew I was in trouble. I got back to my feet and jumped out of the way and onto a tree just before a set of huge spikes made entirely out of rock sprouted out of the ground where I had been standing. "_Ninja Art: Vine Ropes!_" This time, it was Igani Mokuro's turn. At the casting of his jutsu, a vine sprouted out of the bark of the tree I was standing on, and wrapped around my ankle, making me unable to move.

Kagona made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" He fired about a dozen fireballs at me, and the _Vine Rope_ kept me from dodging them, which I realized was Igani's intent all along. The fireballs smashed into the tree, destroying most of it and uprooting what was left of it, sending branches and leaves raining across the ground. I jumped out of the smoke, waiting for another attack, but Tsuchigo turned on his teammates.

"Hey, knock it off! This is my fight, I don't need your help!" Both Kagona and Igani smiled in amusement and backed off to give Tsuchigo the floor, and his overconfidence made me realize that he was just getting started. He turned back to me and said, "Okay, let's continue this fight."

"Fine with me," I said as I pulled out a kunai. "_Earth Style: Rock Sword!_" He smashed his fist into the ground and pulled out a long, thin rock in the shape of a sword, hence the name _Rock Sword_. He charged me and I waited for him to come, and when he did, I blocked his first three slashes, and then jumped out of the way of his fourth. I threw a kunai down at him, but he knocked it out of the air with his sword and jumped out of the way to avoid the explosion from the paper-bomb. I met him in midair from behind, and tried to stab him with my kunai, but he turned around and kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying and smashing though several trees.

"_Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!_" A huge dragon-shaped stream of water flew out of the trees where I was, aimed straight at Tsuchigo, who didn't seem scared at all.

"_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" A series of huge rocks sprouted out of the ground to form a wall between him and the _Water Dragon_, making the _Dragon_ splash harmlessly into it.

I walked out of the trees with a Tiger sign formed and said, "_Fire Style: Meteor Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a small but intense ball of fire out of my mouth at Tsuchigo, who was still behind his _Rock Wall_. The _Meteor Flame_ hit it and exploded, making the _Rock Wall_ burst apart and send shrapnel in every direction. When the dust cleared, Tsuchigo was gone. I jumped back as he crashed into the ground where I had been standing, his fist blasting a crater into it.

He made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" A bunch of tiny slivers of rock that had been knocked loose when he hit the ground shot up at me, ready to cut me to ribbons.

"_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" The air around me condensed into a three-hundred-sixty degree shield like Matt's, but was much more intense than his, since I had mastered it better than he had. The tiny slivers of rock were all knocked out of the air on contact with the shield, leaving me safe to devise a counterattack. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew a fireball down at Tsuchigo, but he jumped out of the way and dived down on top of me with his fist raised. I was still in the air, which meant there was no way I could dodge, so I would just have to defend myself as much as possible. Just when I thought I was about to be in a lot of pain, a hand grabbed my arm and threw me out of the way, taking the hit for me and disappearing in a puff of smoke.

I landed on the ground, and Matt, Naruto, Sakura, and Pakkun appeared at my side, ready to assist me. "Well?" Matt said to Orochimaru's men. "You comin'?"


	53. Chapter 52: Bukigura

BUKIGURA

[Matt's point-of-view] "Well? You comin'?" I said to them.

Sakura pulled out a kunai to use against them, but Kakashi stopped her; "Sakura, stay out of this. These guys are way too much for you to handle. Naruto, Matt and I will handle them, you stay back and leave it to us."

At first, I thought she was going to argue, but she merely said, "Okay, I understand, good luck you guys," and stepped back.

"Alright," Kakashi said to Naruto and I, "It's five on three, and that puts us at a disadvantage on any given day. Against these guys, that puts us at a very big disadvantage, so be careful, understand me?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"Right," said Naruto.

"_Earth Style: Crevasse Breaker!_" The one known as Tsuchigo slammed his fist onto the ground and a bunch of cracks formed that wound their way over to us, but we jumped before the ground collapsed under our feet. Sakura landed in the trees, while the rest of us all dived down on top of them. They all leaped off in different directions while we landed where they had been standing, and we leaped off after them. I could immediately tell that separating to fight anyone Kakashi dubbed as too much for Sakura to handle was a bad idea. Despite the fact, we all continued towards our opponents, myself not really partial to anyone, but just going for the guy who was nearest, which happened to be Igani.

He made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Vine Rope!_" A thin and insanely long vine shot up out of the ground and wrapped around my ankle, then pulled me down and slammed me back into the ground. I immediately got back to my feet to avoid any further attacks from him, although I knew if his attacks were based solely around plant ninjutsu, I had this match in the bag. He made some more hand signs, and said, "_Wood Style: Wood Spear!_" A thin tendril of wood that attached to Igani's hand shot out towards me, ready to run me through. I threw a fire-kunai up at it, and it exploded, blowing ten feet off the end. "_Wood Style: Tree Binding Jutsu!_" Wood sprouted out of the ground at my feet, wrapped around my ankles, and crept up my body, encasing me in a shell of wood that kept me from moving.

Igani jumped down from the tree he had been standing on, his right arm converted into a sword made entirely of wood, and he walked forward, ready to finish me. Just when he was about to run his blade through my eyeball, "_Rasengan!_" The wooden shell burst apart, allowing me to jump out of the way to avoid anything else Igani had up his sleeve.

"_Ninja Art: Venus Flytrap!_" The side of a giant vine as thick around as a car burst out of the ground, but then dug back down, leaving me with suspense at what was about to happen next. The end of the vine burst up, wrapped around my abdomen, and held me there while the ground burst apart in a fifteen-feet diameter as the head of a colossal Venus flytrap poked out. It's mouth was full of teeth half as big as my body, which went well with the mouth that could fit forty of me comfortably inside. The vine started to bring me down into the mouth, but I was already prepared.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a huge wave of fire down at the flytrap, which made its vine unwrap me and let me fall to the ground. I jumped out of the way to avoid the burning plant as it fell to the ground and burnt away. Just when I was about to go after Igani again, Kagona appeared behind me with his hand engulfed in flames.

"You may be able to hold your own against one of us, but I'd _love_ to see how well you do against _both_ of us! _Fire Style: Dragon Saber!_" A huge explosion that uprooted and ignited trees sent me flying through the forest, coming out at the entrance to the base, panting in exhaustion.

"_Wood Style: Root Hammer!_" What looked like a medium-sized tree root popped out of the ground and rammed me in the stomach, making me drop to my knees and cough up blood. Igani and Kagona appeared at the edge of the forest, looking down at me with amused expressions.

They both made hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

"_Wood Style: Wood Spear!_"

[Naruto's point-of-view] The smoke from an explosion rose up above the trees in the direction of the hideout, but I didn't have time to investigate as I was held up by Mikuro Otoma. He made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Wave!_" A stream of sonic fired from his hand and sent me flying right off the tree I had been standing on and slamming me into the ground. I looked up at him, and saw he was looking down at me with an evil smile as he made some more hand signs. "_Ninja Art: Dual Sonic Wave!_" A wave of sonic emanated from both hands and combined to form one huge wave that came down on top of me, impossible for me to dodge.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I could tell things were bad from both of those explosions, but I was too caught up in my own mess to help. I parried a slash from Tsuchigo and his _Rock Sword_ and landed on a tree limb while he fell towards the ground. I jumped out of the way as Katsuna dived down and smashed through the tree with his bare hand, and smashed into the ground, bringing up dust. I still hadn't figured out Katsuna's jutsu, although it was a pretty safe bet Tsuchigo specialized in _Earth Style_. Tsuchigo walked over to Katsuna, both of whom were looking up at me, and made some hand signs.

"_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" A bunch of slivers of rock shot up at me from off the ground, and I was forced to exert every muscle in my body to move out of the way. Tsuchigo charged me with his _Rock Sword_, and I pulled out a kunai to counter it with, which I soon realized was completely useless. I landed on the ground and slipped, allowing Tsuchigo to bypass my guard and land his sword right into my shoulder. He picked me up with his sword and threw me across the ground, my blood spattering everywhere. I slammed into a tree, completely unable to move, and Tsuchigo made some more hand signs.

"_Earth Style: Spike Pit!_" A huge spike made of rock sprouted out of the ground right in front of me and ran me right through the chest, coming out behind the tree I was laying against. Tsuchigo started laughing triumphantly when I disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Huh! Oh come on!" he said irritably, he and Katsuna looking around for the real me.

"_Lightning Blade!_" I came up behind them with a ball of lightning in my hand, ready to run Tsuchigo straight through the chest.

He made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" A bunch of huge rocks sprouted up out of the ground to form a wall between the two of us, but it was going to take more than that to stop me. I ran the _Lightning Blade_ straight through the _Rock Wall_, but when the dust cleared, Tsuchigo was gone. I looked around and saw that Katsuna had disappeared as well; it seemed they had decided to regroup to form a strong defensive. I waited for whatever they had coming, keeping all sides under watch to be prepared from whatever direction they came from.

[Matt's point-of-view] I broke off part of the wood connecting from Igani's hand with _Chidori_, and pulled the other three feet out of my shoulder, blood dripping to the ground in large puddles. I threw the stick aside and prepared for whatever the two of them had next. I had managed to avoid the flames no problem, but they had just been a cover for the _Wood Spear_ to sneak up and ram me. Both Igani and Kagona walked forward, smiling evilly down at me, and I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_"

I fired a thin, intense stream of flame out of my mouth at the two of them, but Igani made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Wall!_" He spat a torrent of water out of his mouth, which formed a tubular wall around the two of them and blocked the flames, leaving the both of them unharmed. When the _Water Wall_ collapsed, I super-sped around behind them with a _Rasengan_ ready, but they had seen me coming a mile off.

"_Wood Style: Root Hammer!_" Not one to be tricked by the same thing twice, I cancelled the _Rasengan_ and leaped out of the way of the root that popped up out of the ground, and it then followed me through the air. I landed on the ground and dived forward, making the root embed itself into the ground where I had been standing. I looked back and saw it was still going, which could only mean one thing. I sidestepped it as it burst out of the ground at my feet and chopped the end of it off with a kunai. "_Wood Style: Multi-Wood Spear!_"

Three _Wood Spears_ flew at me from Igani, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Giant Air Shield!_" The air around me condensed into a giant dome about twenty feet in diameter that blew the _Wood Spears_ off course and made them smash into the ground all around me. The _Air Shield _dispersed and I waited for their next move, feeling prepared for whatever they had next.

[Naruto's point-of-view] My clone went flying out of a cloud of dust and smacked into a tree, then disappeared, leaving me to fight Mikuro alone. He had been knocking me around this whole fight, his sonic jutsu making it impossible for me to get to him. I had absolutely zero projectile attacks, which meant I was stuck with melee, which meant I might as well be picking out the flowers for my coffin. "_Rasengan!_"

The real me came up from behind him with my jutsu ready to splatter him across the forest, but he made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Shield!_" A wave of sonic protruded from his body into a three-hundred-sixty degree shield that blasted me backwards and through tree branches, then slamming onto the ground. I got back to my feet and immediately dived out of the way of another wave of sonic that blasted up dust, and ran into the thick of the forest to get a good leverage for an ambush. He couldn't see me and wasted no time in finding out where I was, as he made some hand signs and crossed his arms, building up chakra.

After about five seconds, he said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Burst!_" and unleashed. A huge wave of sonic blasted away fifty feet of the forest, sending trees cascading across the ground, bringing up a massive cloud of dust that set over the scene. When the cloud cleared, I was lying on the ground, blood coming out of my mouth, buried underneath a fallen tree that was on top of my abdomen. Mikuro landed on the ground and pointed his hand at me, building up for one final shot.

[Matt's point-of-view] I jumped out of the way of a wave of flame fired by Kagona, but didn't see the vine sprout up out of the ground that wrapped around my ankle, pulling me down and slamming me into the ground. More vines came up, wrapping around my other ankle, wrists, and abdomen, pinning me to the ground and making me completely unable to move. Kagona and Igani landed on the ground, Kagona with his hand enveloped in flames, Igani with his hand morphed into a wood sword.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Earth Style: Earth Eruption!_" I was in midair when Tsuchigo cast his jutsu, and I had absolutely zero time to dodge the explosion of earth that threw me back up into the air. "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" Five rather large slivers of rock hit my back, nearly knocking me out, and the slamming against the ground didn't help. Tsuchigo walked over and stomped on my chest, pointing his _Rock Sword_ at my nose.

* * *

I don't think it ever really explains this in the series, so I'm just going to come out and say it; Igani is basically the same as Yamato. He was kidnapped by Orochimaru and implanted with the Wood Style gene.


	54. Chapter 53: Strategy

STRATEGY

[Matt's point-of-view] Vines wrapped around my ankles, wrists, and abdomen, rendering me completely unable to move. Kagona and Igani walked over to me, Kagona's hand enveloped in flame, Igani's morphed into a wood sword.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I was buried underneath a tree, Mikuro standing twenty feet away and about to send one final blast at me.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Earth Style: Earth Eruption!_" I was sent flying into the air by Tsuchigo's attack, and then hit in the back with five sharp rocks, dropping to the ground motionless. Tsuchigo stomped on my chest, aiming his _Rock Sword _at my nose.

[_Third-person point-of-view_] Matt, Naruto, and Kakashi were all pinned by their opponents, and all of them were about to make the final move. Igani and Kagona brought their arms down on top of Matt, creating a huge explosion that sent him flying through the air, and bouncing across the ground. Mikuro blasted Naruto with a wave of sonic that blasted him through the fallen trees and coming out twenty feet away, blood all over him. Tsuchigo stabbed Kakashi square in the heart, killing him instantly. Then, as one, all three disappeared in puffs of smoke.

[_Matt's point-of-view_] "_Chidori!_" I came up behind Igani with my jutsu, and he was still too shocked by my trick to see it coming.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "_Rasengan!_" My _Shadow Clone_ threw me forward at Mikuro, who was still under the impression that he had killed me.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I dove down from the trees with my _Lightning Blade_ aimed at Tsuchigo, who was definitely the more dangerous of the two, or at least until Katsuna revealed his abilities, and he was still in shock to see me coming.

[Matt's point-of-view] "Igani! Behind you!" Igani just barely had enough time to register Kagona's warning, and managed to jump out of the way before I could hit him.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Mikuro heard me coming just in time and spun around, a ball of compressed sonic in his hand that he used to combat my _Rasengan_, and did a good job of it too. Finally, both of our attacks broke, sending us both flying back, Mikuro skidding across the ground, me flying through the air.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" A wall of rocks sprouted up between Tsuchigo and I, and my _Lightning Blade_ blasted right through them, but when the dust cleared, he and Katsuna were gone. I figured my ploy would work, but it seemed like I was wrong. These guys were ready for whatever I had coming at them.

[Matt's point-of-view] I figured my ploy would work, but it looked like I was wrong. These guys seemed to be ready for whatever I had to throw at them. I looked over at Kagona, who was just standing there looking at me with a smile on his face. "Well? You gonna attack me next, or what?" he said, which made me nothing short of positive he was trying to trick me.

"Okay then," I said, "how's this?"

[Naruto's point-of-view] I stood on the ground, watching Mikuro in the trees above laugh hysterically at the fact that he had countered my every last move. A clone came down on top of Mikuro from behind with a _Rasengan_ ready, but he turned around and landed his foot in the clone's stomach, making him disappear in a puff of smoke. I threw a kunai up at him, but he ducked it and sent a wave of sonic down at me that I dodged.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Three clones appeared and leaped up at Mikuro, all armed with kunai, but Mikuro was prepared.

"_Ninja Art: Sonic Boom!_" He clapped his hands together and sent a huge wave of sonic that blew away all three clones on contact and left me with little hope of defeating him. He formed that same ball of compressed sonic that he had used to counter me and said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Sphere!_" He fired the ball of sonic down at me, and before I could do anything about it, it hit the ground at my feet and exploded, sending me flying and smashing through a tree before hitting the ground. I shook the branches off of me and looked up at Mikuro, and saw that he was smiling in amusement.

"Come on, kid! Is that really the best you can do? I'm just getting warmed up!" Great. Even if I found a way around the jutsu he had used so far, it seemed he still had more to come. And I had exhausted all my possibilities. _Shadow Clones_ and _Rasengan_ were the only jutsu I knew. Unless you counted _Summoning_, but Gamabunta might just be a tad much for this area. I guessed I would just have to rely on my intelligence (or what little I had) in order to find a way to beat this guy.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I landed in a tree pending Tsuchigo's next attack while Katsuna just stood on the ground, watching us tussle. I was dying to wipe that smirk off his face, but Tsuchigo did a good job of preventing that from happening. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a huge fireball out of my mouth at Tsuchigo, who was on a limb a few feet above me, and jumped off to avoid my jutsu. He grabbed a branch on his way down and swung forward onto a tree trunk, and waited for my next move. "_Fire Style: Meteor Flame Jutsu!_" He jumped to evade my jutsu, which smashed right through the tree and flew into the forest. He landed on a tree branch right above my head and shot down at me, ready to ram into me. I jumped out of the way and he smashed right through the tree branch, and plummeted straight to the ground.

I then figured out that this was his intention all along, as he was now back where he could openly use his _Earth Style_. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a fireball down at him, but he conjured an _Earth Style: Rock Wall_ to block it and escaped in the carnage of the _Fireball_ destroying it. I looked all around for him, but he was well hidden; I couldn't find him anywhere. Finally, about half a dozen _Terra Needles_ shot out of the trees at me, but I managed to dodge them just in time, and sent another _Fireball_ where they had come from. Trees were blasted aside by the impact, but when the flames cleared, there wasn't even a burnt corpse. The ground under the tree I was standing on exploded, uprooting the tree entirely and sending me plummeting into the forest below.

I dropped off the branch I was standing on and landed on the trunk of another tree, ran around to the other side of it and leaped off of it just before the tree that had been hit smashed into it.

[Matt's point-of-view] "_Ninja Art: Vine Spike Trap!_" I flew through the forest as vines burst out of trees all around me and stuck into the trees opposite them like spikes, which I knew would kill me instantly if they touched me. My _Flight Jutsu_ was very handy in situations like this, as it allowed me to move much more quickly then just jumping. Just when I thought I was in the clear, a huge wall of wood sprouted up right in front of me, and I slammed right into it, breaking my nose instantly and punching a deep crack in the wall. I dropped to the ground with blood in my eyes and mouth and hit on my back, nearly knocking me out. Kagona landed on the wall while Igani landed right above my head, looking down to see if I was in any shape to fight back.

Unfortunately for him, I was. I pivoted around my hand and kicked Igani's feet out from under him, making him crash to the ground, and I got back to my feet and jumped up to Kagona, who leaped off the wall to avoid me. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired some fireballs at both of them, knowing Igani would have a much rougher time of avoiding them, since he was still on the ground. Unfortunately, he didn't have to.

"_Wood Style: Domed Wall Jutsu!_" A spherical wall of wood sprouted up over Igani to protect him from the fireballs while Kagona simply had to run deep into the forest so the ones pursuing him would just crash into trees, which they did.

"_Ninja Art: Vine Rope!_" I jumped off the wood wall, but not quickly enough to avoid the vine that sprouted out of it and wrapped around my ankle, then pulled me down and slammed me into the wall. It then let go of my ankle and let me drop to the ground on my head, nearly snapping my neck in two. Kagona appeared from the forest, and both he and Igani started walking over to me. Before they could get to me, I threw a fire-kunai at each of them, but they jumped out of the way, and they exploded harmlessly against trees.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

"_Wood Style: Wood Spear!_"

They both fired their jutsu down at me, but I jumped out of the way of them, making sure the _Wood Spear_ didn't sneak up on me from behind. Noticing that I wasn't going to be fooled again, Igani detached the _Spear_ from his hand and he and Kagona both landed in trees and waited for my move.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "_Rasengan!_"

"_Ninja Art: Sonic Sphere!_" Our jutsu collided in midair, Mikuro using his _Sonic Sphere_ as a melee attack to better support it.

"_Rasengan!_" A clone came out from behind Mikuro with another _Rasengan_ aimed at his back, and Mikuro knew he was toast. Of course, I've never been good at reading facial expressions, proven by the fact that he was fully prepared for my trap. He cancelled his jutsu and swerved out of the way of me, sending me smashing into my clone, who, in a bout of reflex, raised his _Rasengan_ against mine to defend himself. Our attacks collided, but since a _Shadow Clone's_ strength is only ten percent of that of the original, his jutsu broke without a problem, and I hit him with my _Rasengan_, making him disappear in a puff of smoke instantly. I dropped and landed on the ground, then immediately jumped back up to avoid a wave of sonic that Mikuro had shot down at me.

I landed on the trunk of a tree and threw some shuriken down at him, but he shot a wave at them and blew them out of the air. I had to jump to dodge the wave, and it blew the tree in half, and I just barely avoided it crashing down on top of me. Mikuro met me halfway through the air and blasted me square in the head with sonic, then grabbed my ankle, spun me around, and launched me into the ground. He landed a few feet away from me, and I was just barely getting back to my feet when he blasted me with another wave of sonic that blew me into a tree, nearly knocking me out.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" I blocked every single one of the needles with a kunai, which I threw down at him in an attempt to trick him. He saw the trick coming and jumped out of the way so that the paper-bomb exploded harmlessly on the ground. Katsuna was still just standing back, letting Tsuchigo do all the work. I landed on the ground and Tsuchigo came out of nowhere with a _Rock Sword _raised, ready to cut my head off. I ducked his first slash, and he spun around and brought the sword down on top of me. I jumped out of the way and skidded across the ground, pulling out a kunai to defend myself and waiting for him to come.

It seemed he was starting to get frustrated, as he was giving me a very evil look, but that wasn't making him any weaker. Nothing I did would even touch him, and if I couldn't beat him and Katsuna quickly, there was the strong possibility that Sasuke and Orochimaru would move out before we could get to them.

[Matt's point-of-view] I flew backward and smacked against the wall, and a _Wood Spear_ pierced the wall about two inches away from my face. I dropped to the ground, and Igani brought the _Wood Spear_ down, smashing through the wall, trying to cut me in two. I landed on the ground and jumped out of the way, and when the _Wood Spear_ hit the ground, Igani detached it from his hand. Kagona came up out from of nowhere right in front of my face with a _Dragon Saber_ aimed at me, but I was ready for him. A _Shadow Clone_ ran headfirst into his back, making him spit out blood and fly passed me, crashing to the ground.

I landed on a tree branch and waited for either Kagona or Igani to attack me, but it seemed like they were holding back for the moment.


	55. Chapter 54: Two Stalemates and a Struggl

TWO STALEMATES AND A STRUGGLE

I jumped off the branch I was standing on and flew at Igani, but he made some hand signs and said, "_Wood Style: Wood Wall!_" A wall of wood sprouted up out of the ground and came up between Igani and myself, making me land against it, and then jump off it again to go after Kagona. He fired a _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu_ down at me, but I barrel-rolled out of the way of it and landed on the ground, and then jumped back up after him again. He jumped off the branch he was standing in, and I landed on it, but before I could go after him again, I had to dodge a _Wood Spear_ shot by Igani. I fired a _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu_ down at Igani, but he jumped out of the way and it crashed harmlessly into the ground.

A bunch of tiny fireballs shot from out of the forest at me, and the momentum I had gained from my jump kept me flying out of the way so they would all smash into random objects like trees or the ground. I landed on a tree branch and waited for either one of them to come, but Igani just jumped back into the forest to regroup with Kagona.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I ran at Mikuro with my fist raised, but he fired a wave of sonic, and I disappeared in a puff of smoke. "_Rasengan!_" I came down on top of him with my jutsu aimed at him, but he formed a _Sonic Sphere_ and collided it with my jutsu. A crater was punched into the ground from the brute force of our attacks, and after a few seconds, both of them exploded, sending us both flying. He landed perfectly on his feet while I slammed into a tree and dropped to the ground, coughing up blood. I was really frustrated right now. Nothing I did even began to get through to him, and he threw me around like a rag doll. I finally got back to my feet, made a hand sign, and said, "_Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!_"

Mikuro looked around and smiled at the roughly fifty clones staring at him, all armed with kunai. We all charged, and he made some hand signs. "This looks like it might actually be sort of entertaining, I wouldn't want to end it so soon! _Ninja Art: Sonic Armor!_" His entire body became engulfed in an aura of sonic waves, and I could tell getting to him just got twenty times harder. He landed his fist in the stomach of one clone, threw him into another, then spun around and tripped up three more. He then straightened himself back up and crossed his arms. Almost immediately after, he put them both out to his sides and sent a small wave of sonic, obliterating the nearest five clones.

A wave of sonic fired from each hand, each obliterating two or three clones, and he then spun around, making the waves form a sort of disc shaped aura around him. Before I knew what was happening, the aura erupted into a tornado that blew all of the clones away, sending them flying through the air and crashing into the forest all around like ballistic missiles. Unfortunately for me, I was included in all those clones, so I smashed through branches and slammed into the ground, nearly breaking every bone in my body, but not quite. I stumbled back to my feet with my arm wrapped around my ribs, wondering what Mikuro was about to do next.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I jumped across branches, closely pursued by Tsuchigo, who was ready to cut my head off with his sword. Finally, he made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Earthquake Jutsu!_" I had never heard of this jutsu before, but judging by the name, I had to guess it wasn't going to be good. And of course, I was right. The ground started shaking violently, uprooting trees and sending them crashing into each other. The branch I was aiming to land on broke off before I could get to it, and I went plummeting towards a tree that had been uprooted and was falling towards me. I landed my feet against it and jumped back off, headed towards the ground, and then ran out of the way before it could smash me.

I jumped over a tree that had just fallen to the ground, then found a tree that hadn't been uprooted yet. I landed on it and ran up the side of it, hoping to make it in time before the earthquake uprooted it. I was about three-fourths of the way up before it started falling, which was good enough for me. I made a spectacular leap straight up into the air, coming out at about seventy feet off the ground, and looked down below to see every tree within a one-hundred foot radius on the ground. The earthquake stopped just before I hit the ground again, and I focused my chakra into my feet to build up pressure and slow my descent. It wasn't as efficient as Matt's _Flight Jutsu_, but it was a work in progress.

I looked around for any sign of Tsuchigo or Katsuna, but didn't see anything. Either they thought I would be killed in the earthquake and ran off to join their allies, or they had regrouped and were planning their next attack.

[Matt's point-of-view] Since neither Igani or Kagona had shown themselves since our last encounter, I had decided to deal with them later and go towards that shaking that had occurred to make sure my team was still alive. Before I could get there, a fireball came down on top of me, and I had to summon all my speed to get out of the way in time. Trees were blown aside from the blast, and when I landed, a vine sprouted up out of the ground and wrapped around my ankle. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_, and aimed the chakra flow at the vine, catching it on fire and burning it to ashes, then flying out of the way before they could attack again. I tried to fly up above the forest to get a better view of things, but a _Wood Spear_ blocked my path, and I turned around and flew back downward, since the _Spear_ was still pursuing me.

I tried to hit it with my _Flight Jutsu_, but it withheld against the raw chakra, and kept on coming after me. I tried swerving around trees to throw it off, but it just smashed right through them like they were made of cardboard. Finally, I turned around, flying backwards to keep it from hitting me, and made some hand signs. "_Wind Style: Giant Air Shield!_" The air around me condensed into a giant, twenty-foot-radius shield. Unfortunately, the _Wood Spear_ was already well within the shield, which meant it was blown off course, but not enough.

"Gaah!" Blood dropped to the ground in sizeable puddles from my shoulder, the same shoulder that had already been pierced. This meant, that not only had it been pierced, but it had been run through completely. Igani swung his arm around, bringing the _Wood Spear_ and me with it, and sent me smashing through about a dozen trees before slamming me into a small cliff. I waited to be thrown around some more, but then I realized the _Spear_ had been dislodged from my shoulder. I got back to my feet and jumped into the forest to wait for them to come and set up an ambush.

I hid in the trees, waiting patiently to come and look for me, and then I noticed Kagona right behind me. A huge explosion blew trees aside and a crater into the ground, and I flew out of the smoke and landed, skidding across the ground, and watching all sides for any more attacks. A wall of wood sprouted up behind me and I ran right into it, nearly cracking the back of my head open, and three medium-sized balls of fire flew out of the forest, aimed right at me. I dived out of the way, and all three smashed into the wall where I had been standing, and punched a huge, burning crater in it, almost going all the way through. Kagona landed on the ground from the trees, looking at me with an evil smile.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "_Ninja Art: Sonic Wave!_" I rolled out of the way of Mikuro's attack, since that was really my only option anymore. I threw a kunai at him, but he blasted it away with another wave of sonic, and it clattered to the ground back towards me. I jumped out of the way, and the paper-bomb exploded, blowing a small crater into the ground.

"_Rasengan!_" I came up behind him, but he sent a small wave of sonic at me that stopped me in my tracks. He spun around and landed his hand in my stomach, then blasted me with a wave of sonic that made me disappear in a puff of smoke almost immediately. I came up from where I was before with my fist raised, and since he had still been distracted with my clone, I hit him in the back of the head, sending his face crashing into the dirt. I jumped away before he could counterattack, and he quickly got back to his feet and sent a huge wave of sonic that blasted a crater into the ground and would have blown me away if I hadn't dodged it. I was now in the trees, waiting for Mikuro to find me and attack, but he just continued to look around, his eyes traveling passed my location several times over.

Finally, when he was looking in the opposite direction, I threw a shuriken down at him, but he sent a wave of sonic behind him and blew it out of the air. He rapidly spun around and fired a wave of sonic right at me, and before I could do anything about it, it blew me straight out of the tree. I slammed into the ground, and I realized I was too beaten up to be able to get back to my feet. Mikuro walked over to me and looked down at me, examining me to see if I was still able to fight.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I jumped back through the trees, avoiding Tsuchigo, who still had his sword, and was still trying to gut me with it. Okay, I guess it's time to reveal my plan. I had been playing with him this entire fight, mainly because it was fun watching him get so mad, but also because it would get him to use up his chakra to the point where it would bring him to total exhaustion. It seemed to be working, as he hadn't been using any ninjutsu for the past five minutes. The two of us continued jumping through the forest, Tsuchigo becoming more and more frustrated every second, until I was finally getting bored myself.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu out at him, and he was caught completely off guard by it. The fireball hit him, blasted branches everywhere, and sent him flying to the ground, engulfed in flames. When the fire cleared from the crater Tsuchigo had created upon contact with the ground, he walked out perfectly fine. I jumped down at him with a kunai ready, but he raised his _Rock Sword_ to try and block me. He parried my first slash, but I got around his guard and slashed his hand, making him drop his sword. I then spun around, and landed my foot in his stomach, sending him flying into a tree. After a few seconds of looking like he had been knocked unconscious, he looked up at me with an evil glare, and I realized the fact that I could have taken him down whenever I wanted had severely upset him.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Mikuro jumped out of the way of my fist, and sent a wave of sonic down at me, blasting me into the ground and nearly knocking me out. I tried to get back to my feet, but he landed in my stomach, making me spit out blood, and bringing me very close to unconsciousness. Mikuro jumped back off of me and landed ten feet away, examining me to see if I was ready for more. Unfortunately…I wasn't.


	56. Chapter 55: Waning Confidence

WANING CONFIDENCE

[Matt's point-of-view] I landed on a tree branch, while Kagona and Igani landed on branches a few feet away from me. Igani and I were panting heavily, but Kagona was only panting mildly, since he hadn't really done much, or at least as much as Igani and I. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" A huge fireball fired out of my mouth, but both Igani and Kagona made it out of the way in time. Kagona made the same hand signs and fired a _Fireball_ of his own at me. I jumped off the tree branch I was standing on, and the fireball crashed right on through it, following me to the ground. I landed and dived out of the way, allowing the fireball to smash into the ground, sending rubble in every direction.

I immediately got back to my feet to find Igani there with a kunai aimed right at my throat. I instantly pulled out a kunai of my own to block it, then jumped away before he could attack me again. Kagona appeared at my back with a _Dragon Saber_ aimed at me, and there was no way I could dodge or block this. I flew out of the explosion and smashed into the ground, sending rubble everywhere, and looked back up to see Kagona falling back to the ground. A vine sprouted up out of the ground and wrapped around my ankle, which had caught me off guard, so I couldn't do a whole lot about it.

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_"

About twenty tiny fireballs flew towards me from Kagona's mouth, but I made some hand signs of my own and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" My jutsu incinerated Kagona's with plenty of strength left over to come after him as well. He jumped out of the way and the fireball crashed into a patch of trees, blowing them all aside and setting them on fire. I got back to my feet just in time to see Igani charging at me with his fist raised, and I caught it, but he was too strong for me. He pushed my arm back, landed his knee in my stomach, then grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and threw me into a tree.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I back-flipped through the air and landed on the ground, then rolled into a tree, uprooting it on top of me. I summoned all of my strength to push it off of me, but the moment I did, Mikuro blasted me with sonic and sent me flying through more trees, which finally did it for my jacket. All of the tears from the fight had finally taken its toll on it as it fell off of me, revealing a black t-shirt. I threw a few shuriken through the trees at Mikuro, but I heard them all get blown out of the air by a wave of sonic, which didn't really surprise me at all. I jumped out of the way just as a much larger wave of sonic blasted trees aside and probably would have killed me on contact if it had hit me.

I jumped through trees in a circle around the clearing that our fight had made, and Mikuro was looking all around for me. This time, it would be safe to throw shuriken at him, as I was continually moving, but I knew no amount of shuriken would ever work.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Tsuchigo flew through a tree and slammed into the ground, rolling across it and into another tree, which uprooted and fell on top of him. He punched it aside and got back to his feet with blood all over him, panting heavily from so much blood loss. "Well? Are you ready to give up yet?" I asked, getting sick of his persistence.

"Not even close!" he replied snobbishly, and he charged me again with his bare fist, since his _Rock Sword_ had been destroyed long ago. I caught his fist and landed my own in his stomach, then jumped up and landed my foot in his stomach as well, sending him flying back right where he had been previously. "That's it, I've had just about enough of you!" he said, and he made some hand signs. "_Earth Style: Shockwave Fist!_" He landed his fist into the ground, and a massive shockwave tore it apart, sending me flying back and slamming into a tree. The shockwave kept coming, and uprooted every tree within a hundred feet of us, sending a couple of them landing on top of me.

I could tell at least one of my ribs was broken from the impact, but I couldn't worry about that now; a couple more of those and I would be in trouble. I dragged my way out of the trees, and Tsuchigo's fist landed in the side of my face, sending me smashing through fallen trees and coming out towards a small cliff about six inches tall. I landed towards the edge of it, and Tsuchigo came down on top of me with his fist raised, but I rolled out of the way, making him smash into the cliff. The cliff collapsed the moment he touched it, and he charged out of the dust with his fist raised, aimed right at my face.

I jumped in an arc over him and landed right behind him, but he shot his foot back at me, so I was forced to jump back to keep from getting hit. While still in the air, I threw a fire-kunai down at him, but he jumped out of the way, and the explosion didn't do a thing to him. I landed on the ground and charged him with a kunai, but he knocked it out of my hand with his bare fist, then landed his other fist right in my face. I went tumbling across the ground and slammed into a tree, which I felt was lucky it didn't fall on top of me. I rolled out of the way as Tsuchigo's fist landed in the tree where my head had been, and I got to my feet and jumped back before he could come at me again.

I had no idea where Katsuna was, but wherever he was, he continued letting Tsuchigo do all the work while he just hid in the shadows. Tsuchigo wrenched his fist out of the tree, making it crash to the ground, and looked at me with a much calmer, albeit still furious look. I waited for him to come, but he just stood there and waited for me to come to him, which was going to get no one anywhere.

[Matt's point-of-view] I jumped out of the way of a _Fireball Jutsu_, but Igani quickly followed through with a _Wood Spear_, that would have run me through the chest had I not swerved out of the way. As it was, the _Spear_ clipped me across the shoulder, sending blood spattering everywhere, and I dropped to the ground, leaving Igani wide open to charge with a _Wood Sword_. I blocked it with a kunai, but he kept on advancing, so I was forced to dive out of the way, allowing him to cut me across the ankle. I rolled across the ground and almost immediately got back on balance, making sure neither of them were coming at me again, and I then jumped back to get some distance for whatever I could come up with.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Mikuro landed his hand in my stomach and blasted me with sonic, making me disappear in a puff of smoke. The real me was hiding behind a tree, just trying not to get caught. This was all I could do, since nothing else I tried even began to work on this guy. I had done everything I could come up with, and still, nothing worked. The only thing to do would be to regroup with Kakashi and Matt and switch opponents; have me take on one of their guys while they take on Mikuro. Matt and Kakashi had a much wider array of jutsu than me, so maybe they would have better luck.

In the meantime, I would just have to hold out against him, and I dove out of the way as he blasted away the tree I had been hiding behind, and was now hiding behind the one next to it instead. He continued blowing away trees, and walked off in another direction, making me sigh in relief. I sat there to take a breather while he got further and further away, and then got up and got some more distance between the two of us. That was when I stopped and thought to myself, _Wait…what am I doing?_

Was I seriously running away? After everything I had been through during my career as a ninja, this was all it took to put my tail between my legs? I turned around and prepared to go fight him again when, "Have you strengthened your resolve? Good." I looked up and saw Mikuro in a tree branch above me, pointing his hands down at me and preparing to fire.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Tsuchigo had definitely been holding back before. He was now countering every move I made and returning it twice as hard. I landed on the ground and tried to stem the blood flow from my chest, which had gotten there from Tsuchigo's _Rock Sword_. He was in a tree branch above, looking down at me with a murderous expression. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu up at him, but he jumped out of the way and landed on the ground ten feet behind me. I pulled out a kunai and charged him, but he parried my slash and landed his foot in my stomach, sending me flying back twenty feet. I hesitated to charge him again, since I knew it would bear the same result, but it turned out I didn't need to, as he charged me.

I managed to block his first slash, but he knocked my kunai out of my hand and cut me across the chest once more. He then landed his foot in my stomach, sending me flying back and smashing through a tree. I got back to my feet and began to realize that this guy was going to be a lot harder to handle than I had originally thought. And the fact that I had used up more than half my chakra in this fight didn't help matters. It looked like my only option was to use that jutsu. I reached up to my headband, and Tsuchigo smiled at the prospect of what I was about to reveal. I pulled up my headband to reveal my left eye, which was red and had three comma-shaped designs, called tomoe, surrounding the pupil.

"So, you're using that, then, eh? This should get interesting," Tsuchigo said with unhidden delight. This was my kekkei-genkai. My _Sharingan_. Tsuchigo made some hands signs, which I kept a close watch on, and he said, "_Earth Style: Crevasse Breaker!_" He slammed his fist into the ground and sent a shockwave through it towards me that I quickly jumped out of the way to dodge. I made the same hand signs, said "_Earth Style: Crevasse Breaker!_" and landed my fist on the ground, sending a shockwave at him that he had to dodge.

That was what the _Sharingan_ did. It read an opponent's jutsu right down to the signs made, and allowed you to copy it exactly and perform it as well. Of course you had to be as efficient in chakra-levels as the opponent, but that wasn't hard to do when you had the _Sharingan_. This jutsu could read any ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu and throw it right back. This was why I was so famous. This was why I knew so many jutsu. Because my _Sharingan_ made it that way. We made the same hand signs at exactly the same time, buried our fists in the ground, and pulled out _Rock Swords_ that we pointed at each other and prepared to charge.

[Matt's point-of-view] "_Chidori!_" I came down on top of Igani with my jutsu, but he made some hand signs and formed a _Wood Wall_ to block me. My _Chidori_ smashed right through it, but not my entire body, which meant my arm was now stuck in the wall and I was perfectly vulnerable. Kagona landed on a tree branch to my right with a hand sign made, and he fired a _Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ at me that I was helpless to do anything about. The wall was blown apart by the _Phoenix Flower_, and I was sent crashing to the ground with burns all over me, but I was still not ready to croak. I pulled out two kunai, since I knew one would never be enough, and jumped up to a tree branch so I could keep both of them in view.


	57. Chapter 56: Fatigue

Author's Note: To those of you who have been getting irritated by all of the late posts, please refer to the Note on Chapter 44. Once again, I'm sorry; I'm doing the best that I can.

FATIGUE

Igani fired a _Wood Spear_ up at me, but I jumped out of the way and dived to the ground, the _Wood Spear_ homing in on me the whole way. I put one kunai in my mouth and pulled out another, which I threw at the _Spear_, and the paper-bomb on the handle exploded, blowing the end off of it. I landed on the ground and saw that both Igani and Kagona were hesitating to attack anymore. Was I really all that big a threat? I wasn't complaining, as that just meant I would have more time to rest. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured two clones to help me with these guys, but they didn't look even remotely scared.

"Bring 'em on, we can take down any number of clones you throw at us," Igani said, raising his _Wood Sword_.

"Well, let's see you prove it," I said, leaping up into the trees to give the clones the floor.

"With pleasure," Igani said as my clones pulled out kunai knives. Kagona came down to help, but Igani stopped him. "Hold on, Kagona, let me take care of these guys. You go after the real one," he said, and Kagona looked up at me, ready to obey his orders. Both clones charged, but Igani knocked both their kunai out of their hands and stabbed them one at a time, making them both disappear. Kagona jumped up after me with a _Dragon Saber_ ready, and I knew no kunai could block that. Now anyone of my umpteen other jutsu was a different story.

"_Chidori!_" I formed an aura of lightning around my hand, ready to use it to intercept his _Dragon Saber_, and hopefully blow him away. I jumped down on top of him, and our attacks connected, sending fire and lightning crashing around all over the place. Trees were ignited and uprooted, making it a very dangerous place for Igani, who conjured a dome of wood to protect himself. Branches and fire fell on top of the dome, eventually catching it on fire, and I began to wonder rather he knew his protection was burning to the ground. I tired to see if he made it out, why I was concerned, I don't know, but I had more important matters to deal with.

Kagona landed his fist in my stomach, making me spit out blood and cancelling out my _Chidori_, and he then dragged me through the air over his head, and threw me at the ground. I smashed through trees and rolled across the ground, coming to a stop by slamming into a particularly large tree, which held against me. I dropped down into a sitting position, blood dripping out of my mouth, and the sense knocked out of me, and Kagona landed on the ground looking triumphant. I got back to my feet shakily, still in pain from that last attack, but the ground burst apart at my feet and Igani came up with his _Wood Sword_. He landed his sword right into my chest, and Igani's momentum kept him going into the air, dragging his sword through my chest, and lifting me up with it.

Igani brought the sword out of my chest and spun around, then landed his foot in my stomach, sending me smashing right through the tree and coming out on the ground on the other side of it. Igani was on the side of the tree and Kagona was on top of it, and both of them were looking down at me with evil grins.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Tsuchigo and I exchanged slashes with our _Rock Swords_, and considering I was copying his movements, we both had the exact same skill. Finally, I swept his feet out from under him and he crashed to the ground, allowing me to swipe his _Rock Sword_ to use against him. "Come on, Tsuchigo, all that, and a simple fall is all it takes to do you in?" Katsuna asked, but with an evil smile.

"Hey, either get down here or stay out of it!" Tsuchigo shouted up at him, which I privately agreed with.

"Oh, no thanks," Katsuna said lazily. "You're doing fine on your own, there's no need for me to interject." Katsuna stayed put while Tsuchigo got back to his feet and made some hand signs.

"_Earth Style: Dual Rock Swords!_" He buried both hands in the ground and pulled out two _Rock Swords_, which I realized was going to be just a tad bit more difficult to compete against. I spun both of my swords in my hands and bent low to the ground to prepare for his attack. He charged me, his swords ready to swing, but I crossed mine to block his, then swung them outward, knocking both swords out of Tsuchigo's hands. I charged in, but he grabbed both of my swords and broke the tips off like they were twigs, and landed his knee in my stomach, then he grabbed the back of my vest.

He hauled me into the air and threw me through the air, making me fly right out of my vest, and smash into a bunch of trees, which all collapsed on top of me. When the dust cleared, I was half-buried in tree trunks, with only the upper half of my body sticking out, resting against one of the trunks. My headband had been ripped off in the chaos, and my head was cracked open and bleeding down my nose, staining my mask. "_Lightning Blade!_" I activated my jutsu and used it to blast my way out of the tree trunks, sending wood flying in every direction, and I got to my feet, my _Lightning Blade_ still fully functional and ready to finish this.

"Okay, now we're getting serious," he said happily, pulling another _Rock Sword_ out of the ground. "If you think that can block my jutsu, then you need to do your homework," I said to him, and I charged with my jutsu. He raised his sword to block me, an evil smile on his face.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I was on the ground, barely conscious, hardly noticing Mikuro in the tree branches above me, looking down to see if I was still alive. I knew if I even moved, he would kill me, so I figured I would just play dead and hope he moved on. Then, something stirred inside of me, and I was reborn with new power. I roared up into the air at Mikuro, who seemed startled by my newfound strength. My eyes were red slits, and red chakra was tearing up the ground around me in small streaks, proving my strength even further. I got to my feet and leaped up at Mikuro, who was still too startled to react, and my strength punched a crater in the ground upon lift off, also doubling as a kind of spring to send me higher into the air.

I came up level with Mikuro and landed my fist in his face, sending him flying towards the ground and tearing it apart, trees and branches flying everywhere. I dropped, but grabbed the branch he had been standing on and flipped myself up, perching on top of it. A wave of sonic came up from the trees, but I was too quick, and jumped back, grabbing the branch for support, and the sonic flew harmlessly passed. I looked closely and saw Mikuro hopping across the fallen trees, and he landed on the trunk of the tree I was standing on and ran up at me. I didn't know what he was planning on doing, but I wasn't going to wait to find out.

I dropped off the branch I was standing on, and Mikuro stopped cold and shot at me with his fist raised, but I threw it aside and he went flying passed me. We both landed on the ground about fifteen feet away from each other, and turned to look at each other, waiting for the other to make his move.

[Matt's point-of-view] I dived behind a tree as a wave of fire flew passed me, the tree just barely protecting me from it. The fire cleared and I immediately jumped out of the way to avoid the fire on the tree hitting me, and the tree falling on top of me. I flew through the air, and Igani appeared behind me with his _Wood Sword_ ready, but I pulled out a kunai to block him. The wound on my chest erupted into pain, and I tensed, allowing Igani the opening he needed to drive his _Wood Sword_ at me. I managed to swerve out of the way just in time to avoid the full brunt of it, but he still managed to graze my shoulder sending blood spattering across the ground.

He tried to wrap his hand around my throat, and I had dropped my kunai when he hit me, so I had no choice but try to block him with my hands. I grabbed his arm with both of my hands, but he was too strong for me and kept going forward with almost no decrease in momentum. I used his arm to swing myself around and fly behind him, and he was too surprised by my move to counter. I dropped to the ground, but while I was still in the air, I threw two kunai up at him, and he blocked them both. The paper-bombs on the handles exploded, shrouding Igani in fire and smoke, and I really hoped he was at least close to hurt, because I didn't feel like getting stabbed anymore.

I landed on the ground and Kagona was about twenty feet away from me, looking at me with an amused grin. "Well, I'll have to admit, kid, you're good…better than anyone I've ever fought. I'm going to have to end this quickly, otherwise you might become a nuisance to me," he said, and he activated a _Dragon Saber_ while I activated a _Rasengan_, hoping it would fair better than _Chidori_.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I laid in a pile of fallen trees, completely unable to move this time, and Tsuchigo stood thirty feet away in the center of a medium-sized crater. Just before I made contact, he activated an _Earth Style: Buster Field_, which blew away my _Lightning Blade_ and sent me flying into a bunch of trees, which all fell on top of me. Tsuchigo had an evil smile on his face as he looked down at me, ready to finish me, and I knew I had no way out. Just as he made some hand signs, his eyes widened, and his mouth went slightly ajar. I looked up at Katsuna, and saw he had done the same thing. As one, they both leaped off towards the hideout, completely forgetting about me.

I finally gathered the strength to crawl out of the fallen tree trunks, and stumbled onto flat ground, then dropped, in too much pain to keep my balance. After a few seconds, I got back to my feet and walked off to go search for Naruto, Matt, and Sakura.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Mikuro and I had both slowly fought our way back to the ground, and each was panting just as heavily as the other. My red chakra was stronger than ever, and it was still all I could do to keep up with Mikuro's sonic jutsu. Still, I was getting to him more than I ever had before. Just when we were about to continue, his eyes widened, and his mouth went slightly ajar. I began to wonder what his problem was, until he suddenly leaped off towards the hideout. Completely and utterly confused, but not complaining, the red chakra ceased and I leaped off to find Matt, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei.

[Matt's point-of-view] Kagona's and my attacks collided, throwing fire and pure chakra in every direction, destroying the area much more efficiently then _Dragon Saber _versus _Chidori_. A huge crater was blasted into the ground five feet out from us, and I began to wonder how all the condensed chakra hadn't blown us both back. After a few seconds, his eyes widened and his mouth went slightly ajar. I began to wonder what his deal was, but he put a huge burst of chakra into his _Dragon Saber_, making both of our attacks explode and shroud us in smoke and dust. I jumped back out of the cloud and waited for Kagona to attack, but I saw him leap off into the trees towards the hideout. I looked a little further back and saw Igani doing the same thing.

"Matt!" I looked over and saw Naruto at the edge of the fallen trees that had been cleared by our battle. My eyes widened at the sight of him; his jacket and headband were gone, and his entire body was bloody. His opponent, whoever it was, was apparently really strong. We both leaped off after Kagona and Igani and stopped at the clearing outside the hideout.

"G-Guys." We both looked over and saw Kakashi stumbling over, using the trees for support.

"Dude!" I said, Naruto and I running over to him. He looked, and judging by the stutter in his voice, probably was, worse than Naruto. His vest and headband were gone, and he had more blood on him than Naruto. That was when I noticed we were one short. "Where's Sakura?"

The ground above the hideout erupted, sending dust and rubble twenty feet out, and out of the dust, a figure came flying out, dropping towards us. It smashed into the ground, and I realized it was Sakura. She was just as beaten and bloody as any of us, and it was no mystery to anyone here that she had tried to go after Sasuke herself. "I…thought…I could…save him…" she mumbled, and she passed out. A giant form rose out of the dust cloud that turned out to be a colossal snake. It was ten feet wide and about sixty feet into the air, and I had to guess there was still plenty of its body left on the ground in the dust. Standing on the snake's head were two people, and I didn't even need introductions. I could tell just by his profile who he was.

"Orochimaru."


	58. Chapter 57: Appearance of the Snake

APPEARANCE OF THE SNAKE

The ground above the hideout erupted, sending dust and rubble twenty feet out, and out of the dust, a figure came flying out, dropping towards us. It smashed into the ground and I realized it was Sakura. She was just as beaten and bloody as any of us, and it was no mystery to anyone here that she had tried to go after Sasuke herself. "I…thought…I could…save him…" she mumbled, and she passed out.

A giant form rose out of the dust cloud that turned out to be a colossal snake. It was ten feet wide and about sixty feet into the air, and I had to guess there was still plenty of its body left on the ground in the dust. Standing on the snake's head were two people, and I didn't even need introductions. I could tell just by his profile who he was. "Orochimaru," I said, looking up at him on top of the giant snake.

He had long silky-black hair down to his waist, white (as in literally paper-white) skin, and yellow slits for eyes outlined with purple eye-liner, which in no way dimmed his scary presence. He was wearing a pale-yellow tunic with a rope tied around it as a belt, with dark-gray sweatshirt and sweats underneath. The guy next to him, I had no idea who he was, was a kid who looked barely any older than Naruto, Sakura and I. He had long silver hair tied back in a ponytail, full-circle glasses, and a careless smile on his face. He was wearing a purple vest with a light-gray t-shirt underneath and purple sweats.

Naruto looked up at Orochimaru with pure rage etched into his face, and I knew he wanted nothing more than to go up there and beat him to a bloody pulp. "Well, well, well, look at this gaggle of opponents," Orochimaru said happily. The sound of his voice sent shivers down my spine; it was like he was some sort of demon in the body of a human. In fact, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was.

"Orochimaru!" Naruto whispered deadly. "Give me back my friend…OR I'LL KILL YOU!" He ended the last word with a roar that shook the ground, and I looked at his eyes and saw that they were red slits. I flashed back to some time ago, the day before we were supposed to leave for this mission.

"_Hey, Kakashi…we need to talk…" I caught Kakashi outside of a bookstore, and he looked at me like he knew this was coming. _

"_Well, I was wondering when this was going to come up," he said, and I wondered how he knew I was going to ask. _

"_So…Naruto…you're wondering about his mysterious power that he used against you in the Chunin Exams, am I right?"_ _he asked. _

"_Exactly," I confirmed. "Well, you see, the truth is, fourteen years ago, the Hidden Leaf was attacked by a giant fox spirit known as the Nine-Tailed Fox," he began, and I immediately became interested. "We had our best shinobi on the job, but no one could stand up to the Fox's power. Finally, the Fourth Hokage stepped forth, and at the sacrifice of his own life, sealed the Fox spirit into the body of a newborn child." At these words, I immediately figured out where he was going with this. "That baby boy was Naruto. The Fourth Hokage, in his last words before his death, wished that the villagers of the Leaf treat Naruto as the hero who saved the village…but the villagers did not honor this request. _

"_They treated him like dirt, completely ignoring him and refusing even to acknowledge his presence. You see, Naruto grew up without the love of parents or a family; all were killed before or shortly after he was born. Naruto grew up an orphan in the village, and had not one single friend."_

I had to feel for the guy; alone right from the start, and growing up completely alone? I couldn't even imagine it. I had always, at the very least, had the support of my family through hard times. But this kid…he had no one. No wonder he wanted to save Sasuke so bad; according to Kakashi, he was the first true bond Naruto had ever had…and he strived to restore and keep that bond. I had always wanted to help him save Sasuke, but upon hearing this, I had been looking forward to this moment more than ever. Orochimaru didn't seem scared, or even concerned at Naruto's death threat; in fact, he only seemed amused.

"Well, as interested as I am in combating the Nine-Tails, I really must decline," he said in his same creepy voice. "You see," he continued, "my associates are having so much fun with you Leaf Ninja, I just couldn't bare to deny them the pleasure of having you all to themselves."

At this, the five guys we had been fighting landed between us and Orochimaru, looking ready to continue our fight. Kakashi conjured a _Shadow Clone_ which picked up Sakura and leaped off with her, taking her to somewhere remotely safer.

"Uh, guys," Naruto said nervously as he looked at one of the guys. "I kinda don't do well with that guy, so could someone take him for me and I'll trade you opponents?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, more than happy to be rid of Igani and Kagona. I didn't know what this new guy could do, but I didn't care, I would take him down no problem.

"Okay, fine, I take the kid, and hopefully I'll have more of a challenge than that loser!" he said excitedly, looking me directly in the eyes.

"Well, bring it on," I said, pulling out a kunai.

"Naruto…be careful with those other two," Kakashi said, checking out Igani and Kagona.

"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei, I can take these two no problem," Naruto assured him with a confident smile.

"Funny, considering you couldn't even take one of them," I interjected.

"Yeah, well, you'll see why once you fight him! I'll love seeing how well you fair against him!" he said angrily, and I chuckled lightly.

"Hey, you two, your fight is with them, not with each other," Kakashi said, and we both immediately got back with the program.

"That's right!" Katsuna said, "And if you have any hopes of surviving, you'd best go home!"

"Sorry, can't do that," Naruto said. "You see, I've got a friend corralled up in there, and I'm gonna get him back!" Naruto said, and I was happy to see his determination hadn't been deterred.

"Alright, you guys, but once again, be careful," Kakashi said, and he and Naruto pulled out a kunai.

"Boys," Orochimaru said with a thrilled smile, "have a ball."

At these words, all five of them charged forward, and the three of us separated, jumping off in different directions to better prepare ourselves. The guy I was facing came after me with gusto, pulling out a kunai and immediately started slashing. I only barely managed to keep him off of me, but then he knocked my kunai out of my hand and landed his foot in my stomach, sending me flying back and smacking into a tree. I tried to get back to my feet, but he made some hand signs, said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Wave!_" and blasted me clear through the tree.

I slid across the ground and close to another tree, and the one I smashed through crashed to the ground, bringing up a huge dust cloud. I got to my feet, glad he hadn't decided to attack again, and pulled out another kunai to defend myself with. He sent another sonic wave through the dust at me, which blew the dust away, but when the cloud cleared, I was gone. I came down on top of him with my kunai ready, but he blocked me with his own kunai. I landed on the ground right in front of him with our knives still attached, but I finally jumped back, figuring that he could have gotten around my guard anytime he wanted.

I landed five feet away and waited for him to charge, and he almost immediately did so, nearly knocking me off my feet when he got to me. I was just barely able to keep up with him, and noticing this, he kept coming as fast and hard as he could, eventually getting passed my guard and slashing me across the chest. I dropped my kunai in pain, which I knew was a huge mistake right from the start, only proven by the fact that he stepped forward and sliced me twice more in the torso. I tried to back away from him, but he spun around and landed his foot in my stomach, sending me flying back and leaving me with a case of déjà vu.

I got back to my feet just before he got to me, but instead of engaging him again, I jumped back before he could get to me and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

I fired my jutsu down at him, but he made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Shield!_" A wave of sonic burst forth in the form of a shield that blocked my fire completely and left him perfectly unharmed. I landed on a tree branch and began to realize how Naruto might have had some trouble with this guy.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "Waaah!" I flew through the air and landed on the ground, but quickly got back to my feet to avoid any further attacks. Both Igani and Kagona were looking at me, and both had amused, but evil grins on their faces.

"Come on, kid, is that really the best you can do?" Igani asked, "That other kid was _way_ stronger than you. We actually had to go full-power on him!"

"Yeah, and we're just playing with you," Kagona said, trying to egg me on.

I growled angrily, making them laugh even louder, and pulled out a kunai.

"Uh-oh, Igani, better be careful, or we could awake the Kyubi!" Kagona said jokingly, and they both erupted into laughter. 'Kyubi' was the Japanese terminology for the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of me, yet I had no idea how they knew about it.

"Oh, yeah," Kagona said when he saw my questioning look, "we know _all_ about you and the Fox. Lord Orochimaru told us, you see. After all, we had to know what we were fighting against to have any hopes of beating it." So that explained it. Orochimaru had tried to kill me twice over the years, all because of the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of me. Well, needless to say, it hadn't worked, and the fact that he tried to kill me, _and_ stole my friend, made me less than pleased. I made a hand sign and said, "_Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!_"

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I was starting to wish I had switched opponents. Tsuchigo was stronger than ever, and I was only barely able to keep up with him. I landed on the ground as a _Crevasse Breaker_ ran into a tree and uprooted it, sending it down into the crevasse. Katsuna was no more active now than he was the first time we fought. He just stood up in the trees, isolated from the battle, looking down at us with an amused grin. Tsuchigo's face was a mirror image of Katsuna's, since he knew full well that he was giving me a run for my money. My _Sharingan_ was in full flare, but the chakra it consumed was phenomenal.

If I didn't end this soon, I would be on my knees. I made some hand signs and jumped up to give me more leverage for this next technique. "_Water Style: Water Geyser!_" Jets of water spewed up from the ground all over the area, strong enough to uproot trees, and more than strong enough to keep a human elevated. I made some more hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Great Flood Jutsu!_" Before, the geysers only shot out about a hundred gallons a second. Now, they shot out close to a thousand a second, which quickly flooded the area completely and thoroughly.

The immense pressure created by the water uprooted Katsuna's tree, and he was forced to jump down and land on the water. "_Water Style: Water Vines!_" Small tubes of water sprouted up from the lake I had conjured and wrapped around both Tsuchigo's and Katsuna's wrists and ankles, ensuring their inability to move. I hoped the others were in trees right now, but I didn't have time to make sure or warn them. I had to end this now, and this next jutsu was going to do just that.


	59. Chapter 58: Take it up a Notch

TAKE IT UP A NOTCH

"_Water Style: Water Geyser!_" Jets of water spewed up from the ground all over the area, strong enough to uproot trees, and more than strong enough to keep a human elevated. I made some more hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Great Flood Jutsu!_" Before, the geysers only shot out about a hundred gallons a second. Now, they shot out close to ten thousand a second, which quickly flooded the area completely and thoroughly. The immense pressure created by the water uprooted Katsuna's tree, and he was forced to jump down and land on the water. "_Water Style: Water Vines!_" Small tubes of water sprouted up from the lake I had conjured and wrapped around both Tsuchigo's and Katsuna's wrists and ankles, ensuring their inability to move.

I hoped the others were in trees right now, but I didn't have time to make sure or warn them. I had to end this now, and this next jutsu was going to do just that. I made some hand signs and a _Lightning Blade_ formed in my hand, and I started dropping to the ground with it. "Huaaah!" I crashed the _Lightning Blade_ into the water, sending surges of electricity all throughout the water, and my _Water Vines_ ensured that Tsuchigo and Katsuna couldn't do a thing about it. Just before the electricity hit them, Katsuna busted his hands loose of the _Water Vines_, and he pulled out a kunai and cut his legs loose, then freed Tsuchigo and leaped off with him.

The electricity blasted and uprooted trees, sending them cascading across the ground, and since Tsuchigo and Katsuna had no way of getting up high enough to avoid it, they were about to get smashed. A particularly large tree dropped on top of them, and just when I got my hopes up, Tsuchigo proved to be more than ready for it. "_Earth Style: Spike Pit!_" He stomped his foot on the ground, and a huge rock shot up and snapped the tree in two, making the top fall clear passed them and splashing into the water behind them. The wave from the impact drenched the both of them, but it was of little concern, considering they had survived my combo and were still good to go.

I, however, was another story. All of those jutsu had used up almost all of my chakra, and I was now running on reserves. No one had ever pushed me this far before; no one had ever even come close. At first, I was afraid Tsuchigo was just getting warmed up, but then I realized he was panting more heavily than I was. I guess I couldn't be surprised; he had used more jutsu than I did. At first, I was relieved of this, but then I remembered I still had Katsuna to deal with; and he was still at full chakra levels. Maybe I could get one of the guys to fight him for me? No, I couldn't do that; I was their teacher, and I had to set a good example for them.

I straightened myself up from my kneeling position and pulled out a kunai, prompting Tsuchigo to do the same thing.

[Matt's point-of-view] I dived behind a tree as a wave of sonic flew passed and destroyed a fine line of trees, causing a dust cloud that set over them. I jumped out of the way as another wave destroyed the tree I had been hiding behind and I landed on the trunk of another tree. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired twenty tiny fireballs at Mikuro, but he conjured a _Sonic Shield_ to block them. When the shield disappeared, I super-sped behind him with a kunai aimed at his back, but he jumped up and landed in a tree branch.

He fired another wave of sonic down at me, but I rolled out of the way of it and threw my kunai up at him. He pulled out his own kunai to block it, then threw his knife down at me. I rolled out of the way of it, not noticing the paper-bomb wrapped around the handle. The explosion hit me directly, and I went flying out of the smoke and hit the ground on my side, sliding across it and coming to a stop against a tree. He landed on the ground next to me and picked me up by the collar of my shirt, lifting me up to eye level with him. He formed a ball of compressed sonic in his hand that he held out to me, and I knew if that hit, I would be killed instantly. The paper-bomb on my back exploded, blasting him back and obliterating me completely, but he managed to regain his balance and land on his feet.

Shuriken rained down out of the trees at his back, but he made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Shield!_" His shield blocked every one of the shuriken without sustaining so much as a scratch, and I was starting to get very irritated with it. The shield dispersed and he turned around, made some hand signs, and sent a wave of sonic from each hand up at me. I dived out of the tree and landed on the ground, hoping that Mikuro would charge me, but he seemed to be smarter than Igani and Kagona, because he stayed put.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "Well now, this might be somewhat interesting after all," Kagona said, looking around at the dozens of clones looking at him.

"Yeah, one thing's for sure, that other kid never did this," Igani said, looking around just like Kagona.

"Yeah, that other kid can't compare to me!" I told them confidently, and then all of us raised shuriken. Both of their smiles widened, but I knew they had to be absolutely terrified.

But then Igani made some hand signs and said, "_Wood Style: Domed Wood Wall!_" A dome of wood popped up out of the ground, shielding them both from everyone of the shuriken, and my face fell, since my apparently not-so-fool-proof plan hadn't worked.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" The dome exploded, making way for a huge stream of flame that shot across the ground, then veered straight up into the air, destroying about twenty of my clones along the way. The fire converged about a hundred feet in the air into a ball about thirty feet in diameter, and I had no idea what was about to happen. Kagona made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Meteor Shower!_" The enormous fireball exploded, sending tiny fireballs about the size of basketballs in every direction, tearing every inch of the ground apart, along with every one of my clones. When the havoc ended, I was in the middle of a fiery wasteland, my shirt and pants shredded, and my body burnt to a crisp.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Water Style: Water Wall!_" I spat out a torrent of water that flowed in a circle around me, and then shot up to form an enormous wall of pure water to defend against Tsuchigo's melee attack. He retreated, and I jumped up and landed on a tree branch to look over at the carnage caused by that last fire jutsu. I didn't know who had been caught up in it, but whoever it was, if they had been hit, there was no way they could have survived. I sidestepped Tsuchigo and grabbed his _Rock Sword_, wrenching it out of his hand and kicking him in the back, sending him off the other side of the tree branch. I kept the _Rock Sword _myself to use against him later, but in the meantime, I had to help my squad.

[Matt's point-of-view] "_Get outta' here!_" I finally managed to land my fist in Mikuro's face, sending him dropping down and smacking into the ground. I was on a tree branch, and used this time to look over at the flaming wasteland caused by that fire jutsu. I didn't know rather it had been aimed at Kakashi or Naruto, but I really hoped it was Kakashi, because there was no way Naruto could have dodged it. I left Mikuro flattened on the ground and leaped over to see if anyone was alive. I got to the edge of the clearing made by the jutsu and my mouth dropped.

Fires were burning anywhere I looked, and in the center of the hundred-foot wide crater was the shape of a human sprawled across the ground. I made sure no one was hiding in the shadows, and jumped down and ran over to him to see if he was alive. "Matt!" I looked behind me and saw Kakashi land on the ground next to the tree line, and we both ran over to the body on the ground, both hoping it wasn't a dead Naruto. We got over to it, and my heart dropped, looking at the beat and battered Naruto.

I turned him face-up and was thankful to see his shallow but existent breathing, showing he was at least still alive. "Matt, can you heal him?" Kakashi asked me.

I shook my head hopelessly, and said, "I can try. I mean, Tsunade only taught me how to heal myself. I could try to use it to heal Naruto, but you remember what Tsunade said during our training." I flashed back to the time when Kakashi and I were training for the third exam of the Chunin Exams.

"Chidori!_" I crashed into one of the many rocks scattered around the mountain, making it burst apart and send small slivers of rock flying, and landed on the other side with _Chidori _still in tact. I deactivated the jutsu and turned around to look for approval rate from Kakashi. _

"_I'd say you have the _Chidori_ down pat. Three bursts at your age is truly something to withhold; four bursts in one day is a killer for me. We'll let you rest for a little while to let your chakra build back up, and then work on something else." I immediately sat down where I was, panting with exhaustion. _

"_Not so fast, Kakashi." We both turned and saw Tsunade walking down the mountain path towards us. _

"_Lady Fifth. What brings you up here?" Kakashi asked. _

"_I have a jutsu of my own to teach him," Tsunade answered, looking at me pointedly. _

"_Yeah, what is it?" I asked, wondering what I was about to learn next. _

"_It's called the Palm Healing Jutsu, and true to its name, it's a medical ninjutsu. This jutsu is used to heal yourself when you are inflicted with lethal injuries," she explained, and she had my attention right from the start. "Now, this jutsu is ridiculously useful, but like all great power in this world, it has its risks." I had a pretty good idea these risks would have something to do with the amount of chakra it consumes. "This jutsu uses up an absolutely tremendous amount of chakra, but that's not all…" I wondered what else this jutsu had with it, but being unable to think of anything, I decided to let her continue. "While it's true you can use this jutsu to bring you back from a thread from death, it may be used only to heal yourself." _

"_Wait, so if I'm on a mission and one of my teammates gets hurt, I can't help them?" I asked. _

"_Exactly," Tsunade confirmed. "Healing yourself and healing others use entirely different concepts of chakra control. If you try to use this jutsu to heal someone else, chances are, instead of healing them…you're probably going to kill them." _

Well, it didn't look like Naruto was in too great of condition as it was. If someone didn't do something now, he would die. Where was Sakura when you needed her? I built up my chakra to prepare for the jutsu, and started praying. I made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Palm Healing Jutsu!_" I placed my hands on his chest and they were engulfed in green chakra. I didn't know what concepts were supposed to be used for this, so I just did what I usually do. At first, I thought, maybe I was just hoping, that it was working, but then, I felt something and there was no mistaking it. He had stopped breathing.


	60. Chapter 59: Struggle On!

STRUGGLE ON!

"Oh God," I said, horrified. "Oh God. Oh God. Oh God!" Why I hadn't stopped the jutsu right there, I don't know, but I didn't, and a few seconds later, a wave of pure evil blasted into me, nearly knocking me off of him. I instantly stopped the chakra flow, and Naruto's eyes snapped open. I didn't know what was going on at first, but then I figured it out. The Nine-Tails inside of him had brought him back to life. I was rather thankful his eyes weren't slits, although that might actually be of some use against these guys. We all got back to our feet, thankful he was okay, and I then realized we were surrounded. Naruto and Kakashi both realized it too, and we all looked around at Orochimaru's men, situated on every side to make sure we couldn't escape.

"Well great. It looks like we won't be getting a break this time," Kakashi said, and we all went back-to-back (or as much so as we could with three people), and waited for any one of them to attack.

"Hold on, let me go first," Igani said, jumping down from the branch he was standing in and walking towards us.

"Hold on, Igani," said Katsuna. "If you're reckless, you'll get killed. And besides, you couldn't beat all three of them, heck, even I couldn't beat all three of them." The fact that Katsuna doubted even his own power made Igani second-guess himself, and then step back and wait for orders. This wasn't good, as it told me that Katsuna had to be horribly strong.

I pulled out a kunai and prepared to charge, but Kakashi stopped me, saying, "Hey, the same holds true for us; none of us could ever take all five of them on, especially in our current states. The best thing to do would be to fight them together and try to pool our strength to take them down one-by-one."

"Kakashi, with all due respect, do you really think they'll let us do that?" I asked him.

"Hmm. You've got a point there," he told me.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Naruto asked, completely confused.

"Have you not been paying attention? These guys' strategy is to divide and conquer. Since there's so many of them, they divide up their opponents and completely isolate them from their teammates, then use their sheer strength and power to bring them down one at a time. They would never allow us to stay together. And besides, even if they did, there's only three of us; there's no way we could take all of them, even with our combined power," I explained to him.

"Oh," he said simply, which told me he was still confused.

"Alright, so, what, we just call our enemies and hope for the best?" Kakashi asked.

"No. I'll take down Mikuro, then find Naruto and help him with Igani and Kagona, and once they're both gone, we'll find you and finish it," I explained to them.

"Sounds like a plan," said Kakashi.

"Do you understand, Naruto, or do you need me to dumb it down for you?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Naruto said, seeming to take no offense to my insult.

"Alright, good luck you guys, and for the third time, be careful," Kakashi said, and we all took off.

"Hm? Another frontal assault? Haven't they tried this before?" Igani asked as Naruto charged towards him.

"Yeah, and the results will be the same as before!" Mikuro said, making some hand signs and pointing his arm at me.

I leaped out of the way of a sonic wave and cleared Mikuro completely, landing on the other side of him in the trees. He spun around and tried to hit me with another wave of sonic, but I dropped down from the trees and it went smashing harmlessly through the forest. I threw four shuriken up at him, but he jumped out of the way, and while he was in the air, threw four shuriken down at me. I rolled out of the way of them and ran into the trees to find some cover for an ambush. He landed on the ground, and I immediately fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ at him from behind.

He made some hand signs and conjured up another _Sonic Shield_ to block it, the fireball scorching the ground all around him. I came down on top of him with a kunai, but he jumped back and I landed on the ground, only barely keeping from taking a face plant.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Igani cast a _Vine Spike Trap_ to take out my three _Shadow Clones_ that had been attacking him, and then sent the vines at me. I tried to block them with kunai, but I only managed to block two, and the third knocked the knife out of my hand. The spikes came back around and all ran me through from behind, causing me to disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Igani called, looking all around for me. I threw a shuriken at him while he was looking in the other direction, but a kunai flew up from out of nowhere and knocked it out of the air. I looked over and saw Kagona standing there, his eyes looking directly into mine. Igani jumped down from the tree branch he was standing on and landed on the ground twenty feet away, then pulled out a kunai. I pulled out a kunai of my own to try and defend myself, and both of them began to advance.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] My kunai made contact with Tsuchigo's _Rock Sword_, but I jumped back again in order to keep Tsuchigo from hitting me. He stopped for a moment to rest, but then charged again with his _Sword_ raised. I pulled out a kunai to block him, but he stopped short and jumped over me, landing behind me and swinging his sword. I blocked it with my kunai, then ducked under his guard and aimed my knife at his gut. He raised his knee and landed it into my hand, sending my kunai flying, and he then brought his sword down on top of me. I was in no position to dodge it in any way, so I had no other choice and tackled him, hoping for the best.

He went flying back and I smashed him into the ground, his _Rock Sword_ clattering away, and I raised my fist and brought it down on top of him. He raised his hand and caught my blow, then landed his foot in my side and sent me rolling off of him. I managed to get back to my feet, and just in time to counter Tsuchigo's charge. I blocked his fist, and his strength sent me skidding across the ground about fifteen feet, but I still managed to keep on my feet. He charged me again, but I jumped up, back-flipped, and landed seven feet away. I pulled out a kunai to help myself out with, and it worked, as Tsuchigo immediately stopped cold. It seemed he was finally starting to run out of chakra, as he didn't make anymore _Rock Swords_.

That worked for me, as I was running low as well. What didn't work was Katsuna sitting in the shadows, just waiting for me to beat Tsuchigo so he could have his turn.

[Matt's point-of-view] I came down on top of Mikuro with a kunai, but he pulled out a kunai of his own and parried my slash. He pushed me back via his knife and I landed five feet away, and immediately charged. The delay was all he needed to make hand signs and say, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Shield!_" His shield formed, blasting me back and smashing me through a tree. I got to a kneeling position, but before I could get any higher, Mikuro blasted me with sonic, sending me through a few more trees. The number of times I had been beaten around was finally beginning to take its toll on me. I could barely get up anymore, and Mikuro was still going strong.

Upon closer inspection, I realized I was wrong. It looked like Mikuro was panting even more heavily than I was. This was my ticket, as it seemed I might finally be able to get rid of him. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" My fireball shot right at him, and at twenty feet away, you'd think it might do some damage. Nope. Mikuro jumped back, then up, letting the fireball fly past and smash into a wall of trees, blowing them all apart. He landed in one of the remaining trees in the area and looked down at me, waiting for me to attack again. I super-sped around behind him and raised my fist, but he ducked my punch and spun around, landing his foot in my stomach and sending me flying.

I managed to flip back to my feet and skid to a stop, giving me enough time to jump out of the way of Mikuro's _Ninja Art: Sonic Wave_. I landed on a tree and leaped down at Mikuro with a kunai raised. He made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Dual Sonic Wave!_" I had expected this all along, but hadn't thought of a way to avoid it. I took the wave head-on, sending me flying back and smashing through trees, bringing up a cloud of dust. I stumbled out of the trees with blood dripping down the side of my head, a triumphant grin spread across my face. The fire-kunai at Mikuro's feet, which I had thrown there just before Mikuro's jutsu hit me, detonated, shrouding him in smoke and fire, and hopefully did some damage.

Just in case it didn't, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" If I had enough chakra for a _Dragon Flame Jutsu_, I would have used it. As it was, the standard fireball flew into the explosion, merging with it, and ripping the air apart into an even bigger explosion that I had not been expecting, sending me flying back and smashing into a pile of fallen trees.

[Naruto's point-of-view] A _Shadow Clone_ was fending off Igani, while I was fending off Kagona. At first, I thought Igani was just playing with the clone, but when Kagona dropped to his knees in exhaustion and lack of chakra, I saw Igani had done the same thing. It looked like Matt really had given them a run for their money. Of course, that _Dragon Flame_ and _Meteor Shower_ combo had to have taken at least half of Kagona's chakra, but I think Igani used, maybe, five jutsu during the course of this fight? Regardless, both were worn down (not that I was any different) and both were ready for the taking.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured three clones, and formed a _Rasengan_ with one, while my other two formed a _Rasengan_ with each other. The clones that didn't have the _Rasengans_ swung us both around and threw us at Igani and Kagona, preparing to take them both out in one shot.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Lightning Blade!_" The ball of lightning appeared in my hand, and instead of wasting my chakra on conjuring a _Shadow Clone_ to take out Katsuna as well, I focused solely on beating Tsuchigo.

[Matt's point-of-view] "_Chidori!_" My jutsu blasted a shallow crater into the ground as I looked up at Mikuro, who was sitting in a tree, ready to tear him apart. I charged, and when I was in range, jumped up, and came at him with _Chidori_.

"_Ninja Art: Sonic Shield!_" He conjured a shield to block my attack, but I knew full well it was worthless. My _Chidori_ busted right through his shield, aimed right at his heart.

[Naruto's point-of-view] My clone and I slammed the both of them with our _Rasengans_, making them both stare at us in shock.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I crashed down on top of Tsuchigo with _Lightning Blade_, running him through the heart completely. All that was left now was Katsuna.


	61. Chapter 60: Counterattack

COUNTERATTACK

[Naruto's point-of-view] "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured three clones, and formed a _Rasengan_ with one, while my other two formed a _Rasengan_ with each other. The clones that didn't have the _Rasengans_ swung us both around and threw us at Igani and Kagona, preparing to take them both out in one shot.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Lightning Blade!_" The ball of lightning appeared in my hand, and instead of wasting my chakra on conjuring a _Shadow Clone_ to take out Katsuna as well, I focused solely on beating Tsuchigo.

[Matt's point-of-view] "_Chidori!_" My jutsu blasted a shallow crater into the ground as I looked up at Mikuro, who was sitting in a tree, ready to tear him apart. I charged, and when I was in range, jumped up, and came at him with _Chidori_.

"_Ninja Art: Sonic Shield!_" He conjured a shield to block my attack, but I knew full well it was worthless. My _Chidori_ busted right through his shield, aimed right at his heart.

[Naruto's point-of-view] My clone and I slammed the both of them with our _Rasengans_, making them both stare at us in shock.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I crashed down on top of Tsuchigo with _Lightning Blade_, running him through the heart completely. All that was left now was Katsuna. "Wait, what?" I said, as I realized that I hadn't beaten Tsuchigo at all. He turned into dirt and collapsed to the ground, meaning I had wasted my _Lightning Blade_.

[Matt's point-of-view] Mikuro grabbed my arm right at the exact spot where he wouldn't be harmed by my _Chidori_, and landed his other fist in my stomach. I cancelled _Chidori_ and tried to drop to the ground, but Mikuro kept my hand grasped firmly in his, then blasted me with a wave of sonic, sending me smashing into the ground and tearing through it. When the dust cleared, I had blood running out of my mouth and my arm cut open to go along with the concussion caused by the impact. Mikuro dropped to the ground and was looking at me with an evil grin as he prepared to finish me off.

[Naruto's point-of-view] At the same time, Igani turned to wood, Kagona turned to fire, and they both burst apart. Kagona's flames ignited my clone and he disappeared, leaving me to drop to my knees in exhaustion. Both of my remaining clones stood on guard and looked around for the two of them, leaving me to relax for hopefully a few minutes while they did the same thing. After about ten minutes, which was much more than I had bargained for, but I wasn't complaining, they still hadn't come, and I was finally able to get back to my feet for when they did.

About five minutes after I got up, a _Wood Spear_ shot out of the forest and took out one of my clones, while a _Fireball Jutsu_ took out the other one. Igani and Kagona jumped out of the woods on either side of me, Igani with a _Wood Sword_, Kagona with a _Dragon Saber_. I jumped out of the way and they both crashed into the ground, Kagona's jutsu bringing up dust, and I landed at the edge of the clearing we were in. A _Wood Spear_ shot out of the dust straight at me, but I barrel-rolled out of the way and it smashed through the trees, bringing them all to the ground. Another _Fireball Jutsu_ shot out of the dust, blowing the cloud aside, and I knew I was nowhere near fast enough to just run out of the way.

I quickly conjured up a single _Shadow Clone_ that grabbed my arm and swung me around, then threw me just outside the reach of the fireball, taking the hit for me. I threw some shuriken at Igani, but he blocked them all with his _Wood Sword_ and left Kagona to come at me with a kunai knife. I blocked his slash with a knife of my own, then ducked behind his defense and aimed my knife at his gut. Just before I hit, a vine shot up out of the ground and wrapped around my wrist, keeping me from finishing my attack. More vines sprouted up, wrapping around my other wrist and ankles, allowing Kagona to do whatever he wanted. He took his time, stretching and flexing his muscles for a few seconds, until he finally made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Saber!_" He held out his hand, which became engulfed in flames, and he held it out, ready to run it into my stomach.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I landed in a tree branch as the ground caved in on itself due to Tsuchigo's _Crevasse Breaker_, and he brought his fist back up and looked at me, waiting for me to attack. I had my left eye, which bore the _Sharingan_ closed to conserve chakra, not having my headband to conceal it with. I was slowly building up chakra to use some of my stronger jutsu, while in the meantime, just dodging Tsuchigo and trying to get him to use as much chakra as he could. However, it seemed he had decided to resort to taijutsu, as he jumped at me with his fist raised. I caught it and landed my knee in his stomach, but it didn't even seem to faze him as he landed his fist in my face, knocking me clear off of the tree branch and smashing through the tree supporting it.

Tsuchigo dropped to the ground, and didn't even need to avoid the tree, as it smashed to the ground in almost the exact opposite direction. I jumped at him with a kunai, but he knocked the knife away with his bare hand, causing a gash to open across it, and he grabbed both my wrists and landed his knee in my stomach. He let go of my wrists and shoved me with all of his strength, smashing me through several trees and coming out at a small creek. I rolled out of the way as he buried his fist in the ground where my head had been, and jumped out of the way of him sweeping his other fist out, trying to knock me away. I threw some shuriken down at him, but he jumped out of the way, and when he landed, hesitated to charge, instead allowing me to make the next move.

I just took the time to kneel there and rest, catching my breath to go a few more rounds.

[Matt's point-of-view] "_Rasengan!_"

"_Ninja Art: Sonic Sphere!_" He formed a ball of compressed sonic to combat my jutsu, which more than stood up to the challenge. Our chakra blasted a crater into the ground, but our attacks still managed to stay connected. I wasn't entirely aware anything cold stand up to _Rasengan_, but Mikuro had just proved that there was. I had to be perfectly honest with myself; the only shinobi I had ever fought who was as strong as Mikuro was Hatsuji. Not even Igani and Kagona put together were this tough to beat. I owed Naruto a serious apology when we were done here for mocking him at not being able to take this guy. I wasn't even entirely sure rather _I_ would be able to take him.

I was just really glad he seemed to be running out of chakra, because _Rasengan_ took up just about every bit I had left. It was all melee attacks from here on out until I could find a good chance to start building it up again. In the meantime, I was still waiting for one of our jutsu to give, just really hoping it wasn't mine, until they both exploded, sending us both flying through the forest. I slammed into a tree while I don't even know what happened to Mikuro, and couldn't find the strength to get back up. In a situation like this, Naruto would just call on the power of the Nine-Tails inside of him to give him some extra strength, but I didn't have any super-powerful demon fox spirits lurking inside of me.

I would just have to do with the talent I came across over the passed year. I was finally able to get back to my feet and wait for Mikuro to come, but that never happened. I stumbled through the forest towards where he had crash-landed, and saw him kneeling on the ground, just barely able to keep his balance. "Well…bring it on…you have the chance to finish me, why don't you take it?" he asked me. "You're all ready down, there's no point in killing you. Besides, I don't have time, I need to go help my friend," I told him, and I turned around and walked off.

"Big mistake!" I got blasted with sonic, sending me sliding across the ground and coming to a rest face-down against a tree. I turned face-up and saw him right above me, pointing his hand down at me with a wave of sonic ready to go.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Kagona brought his hand towards my gut, but I roared and tore out of the vines, then ducked Kagona and landed my foot in his stomach, sending him flying. "Whoa!" Igani said, as he realized I had been influenced with the power of the Nine-Tails. I roared again, shaking the very earth itself, and charged Igani at the speed of light, landing my fist in his face, and sending him flying. Kagona tried to come at me from behind, but I sensed him coming and turned around, catching his fist. I shoved him back and leaped forward, forward-flipping and landing my foot in his stomach, which sent him flying right back where he came from.

Vines sprouted out of the ground and wrapped around my wrists, ankles, and waist, pulling me down and pinning me to the ground. I looked over and saw Igani leaning against a tree, blood coming out of his mouth and a gash on his shoulder, and he looked more exhausted than ever. I summoned all of my strength and busted out of the vines, just like before, and got to my feet and shot at Igani with my fist raised, who didn't even try to dodge it.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Tsuchigo charged me with his fist raised, but I managed to catch it, then jump back out of the way to avoid any more attacks from him. I threw one of my last three kunai at him, but he knocked it out of the air with a kunai of his own, then charged me again. I didn't have enough energy to dodge him, so I would just have to trust my reflexes and hope for the best. I managed to avoid the kunai, merely sustaining a cut to the hand, and grab his fist, using all of my strength to keep him held back. I kneed him in the stomach, making him drop his kunai, and I grabbed it out of the air before it hit the ground and ran it into his gut.

I had my _Sharingan_ eye closed, so I didn't know this was a _Substitution_, which became apparent when he turned into dirt and burst apart. His kunai turned to dirt as well and dropped to the ground, leaving me with two kunai and six shuriken. I had zero paper-bombs, which was a very big issue, but I would just have to make due without them. My chakra was finally back up to the point where I could use some of my more powerful jutsu, but not even close to _Lightning Blade_ or _Sharingan_ level. I turned around and looked at Tsuchigo, who was no longer panting, and had slow, even breaths. He was starting to regain chakra as well, which wasn't a good sign for me. He made some hand signs and buried his fist into the ground, pulling out a _Rock Sword_.

[Matt's point-of-view] I had dodged Mikuro's previous attempt at killing me, and both of us were now only using taijutsu, since we had used up the last bits of our chakra on _Rasengan_ and _Sonic Sphere_. I landed on the ground while Mikuro landed in a tree branch, me kneeling on the ground, Mikuro leaning against the tree trunk. Both of us were panting harder than ever, and both of us were ready to finish this. It was only a matter of time before that actually became reality.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I exchanged slashes with Igani, my kunai against his _Wood Sword_, and we both landed twenty feet away from each other, taking the time to take a little break. Kagona appeared behind me with a kunai of his own raised, but I turned around and blocked it, my reflexes enhanced by the power of the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails' power was the only way I was able to keep up with them any more; without it, I would have been dead a long time ago. I jumped away from Kagona and landed fifteen feet away at an angle so that I could keep both Igani and Kagona in sight. Kagona and I raised our kunai, while Igani raised his _Wood Sword_, and we all prepared to bring this fight to an end.


	62. Chapter 61: Know Your Limits

KNOW YOUR LIMITS

[Matt's point-of-view] I really hoped that Mikuro was getting tired, because I was about to drop. The only thing keeping me going was the promise I had made to Naruto to help him retrieve Sasuke. I threw some shuriken up at Mikuro, but he jumped out of the tree and landed on the ground, then charged me with a kunai. I managed to block his slash, but unfortunately, he still had energy to spare as he ducked and spun around, then slashed both of my legs with his knife, making me drop to the ground. He straightened himself back up and smiled evilly down at me, raising his kunai to finish me off once and for all. I summoned all the strength I could muster, ignored the screaming pain in my legs, and swept Mikuro's feet out from under him, making him drop to the ground on his back.

I fought my way back to my feet and jumped off, leaving Mikuro on the ground, dazed. I escaped into a thicket of trees and sat down, sighing in relief at taking the pressure off of my bleeding legs. I didn't have enough chakra for a _Palm Healing Jutsu_, so I pulled some bandages out of my shuriken holster and wrapped them around my legs, breathing through the pain. I tied the bandages in place and got back to my feet, blessing the bandages for dimming the pain so much. I jumped around a few times to make sure I could move properly, and was pleased to find that I could. I swerved out of the way of a kunai that ran passed my nose, and looked to where it had come from to see Mikuro standing there, armed with another knife.

I reached for a knife of my own and felt my stomach turn over when I realized I didn't have any. I still had some shuriken left, so I decided to make due with one of those and waited for him to come. The shuriken worked surprisingly well, I managed to block every one of his slashes, and even managed to get behind his guard and slash him across the gut a couple times, then cut his hand and make him drop his kunai. I pocketed my now-bloody shuriken and picked up his kunai, preferring to use that instead. Before I even knew what was happening Mikuro grabbed my wrist, kneed me in the stomach, and stole his kunai back. He then landed his elbow in the back of my neck and landed me face-first into the ground, nearly knocking out a tooth, and he stomped on my back and aimed his kunai down at me.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I had regained some of my energy and was now blocking all of Tsuchigo's attacks, even managing to get in some of my own. Unfortunately, he had blocked all of those, but I had a feeling that would soon change. I skidded backwards across the ground, and Tsuchigo spun his _Rock Sword_ around in his hand, preparing to come at me again with it. I had absolutely no idea where Katsuna was anymore, it seemed he had run while we were tussling and hadn't turned back up again. I didn't have time to deal with that right now, seeing as how Tsuchigo was giving me literally zero time to. He charged me again with his _Rock Sword_, and I blocked his first slash, ducked his second, and thrusted my knife at his gut.

He just barely managed to jump back out of the way of it and landed five feet away, then immediately charged back in. We exchanged a few more slashes until my arms eventually got tired, and I switched from defense to offense, slashing at him, and making him defend against me. Finally, he kicked my kunai out of my hand, nearly breaking my hand in the process, and thrusted his _Rock Sword_ at my gut. I sidestepped it and it ran across my side, but I landed my fist in his face and sent him stumbling back, then jumped up and landed my foot in his chest. My attack sent him crashing to the ground and his _Rock Sword_ clattering away, leaving him perfectly defenseless. I stomped on his chest and pinned him to the ground, really hoping that would suffice until I could build up enough chakra for a good finisher.

"_Earth Style: Buster Field!_" I hadn't seen the jutsu coming, which meant it hit me head-on, the shockwave blasting me off of him and sending me flying through the air. I landed in a pile of fallen trees and was strewn among them, barely able to move. Tsuchigo was back on his feet, and walking towards his sword, probably coming for me next. I managed to get back to my feet to prepare for him, but when he got his sword and saw I was on my feet, he just stood there and waited for me to come to him. "Ugh!" I was hoping he would come to me, as that would give me a better chance of countering him, but it seemed he was after the same concept.

"Well, I guess if I have to," I decided, and jumped at him. He raised his _Rock Sword_ and blocked me, but when I landed on the ground, I ducked under his guard and swung my kunai at his legs. The bulk of them knocked my knife out of my hand, barely leaving a scratch. Tsuchigo landed his foot in my face, sending me flying back and smashing through a tree. It took me a few seconds to get back to my feet, but when I did, I walked back out of the pile of fallen trees and looked at him as if questioning him if that was all he had. He took my expression correctly, and instantly became aggravated, charging me with his _Rock Sword _raised. I dived out of the way of his slash and rolled across the ground, then got back to my feet and went after him with my fist raised.

He swung his sword at my side, attempting to cut me in half, but I saw it coming just in time to jump out of the way. I didn't get out of the way in time, as the sword left a deep, but not too deep gash in my stomach. I landed on the ground, but I knew charging recklessly back in would get me sliced up, so I decided to wait it out and see what he did.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I jumped off the tree branch I was standing on to get out of the way of Igani and his _Wood Sword_, and soared through the air, right at Kagona. He raised his kunai to defend himself, but I knew full well I would be able to get passed it. He managed to block my first slash, but I landed on the ground and ducked down, then tripped him up and sent him crashing into the dirt. I stomped on his chest and tried to land my kunai in his nose, but Igani came at me from behind, and I was forced to jump out of the way. Igani leaped up at me with his _Wood Sword_, but when he got to me, I pulled out a kunai and blocked it. We both dropped to the ground, then jumped away from each other, Igani giving Kagona the floor to charge.

He still didn't have enough chakra for any jutsu, so he just continued to charge me with a kunai, which was A-okay with me. I blocked his slash, then got passed his guard and aimed my knife right at his heart. He just barely registered what was happening and got out of the way with my knife in his shirt. Igani charged me with his _Wood Sword_ again, but I saw him coming a mile away and was more than ready for him. I blocked all of his slashes, thanking the Nine-Tails for all of its help, and beat him back, trying to break his guard and get a few slashes in on him. Kagona came up from behind me with his kunai aimed at my back, and I waited until just before he hit me and jumped. Kagona accidentally tackled Igani, sending both of them crashing to the ground, myself really hoping they had stabbed each other.

No such luck, they both got back to their feet, perfectly fine, and looked at me with hate in their eyes. They both raised their respective weapons, and I raised my kunai to prepare to defend myself.

[Matt's point-of-view] "Well? What are you waiting for?" It had been almost five minutes, and Mikuro was just standing there, foot on my back, kunai aimed at my head.

"Ah, I'm just savoring the moment; I had the honor of taking down one of the most powerful shinobi in existence, a _Rinnegan_-barer," he told me.

"Yeah, well, you haven't beaten me yet!" I spun around, knocking him off of me, then landing my foot into his stomach, slamming him into the ground and pinning him. I rose my foot up and slammed it down on top of him, making him spit out blood and ensuring his inability to move. He had his arms wrapped around his stomach while I was thinking of a way to kill him, not having enough chakra to keep myself going if he managed to avoid me. Finally, I pulled some shuriken out and aimed them down at them, Mikuro only just realizing what was happening. He tried to reach his hands together to make some hand signs, but I landed a shuriken in both arms before he could get them close enough, and both became useless. I prepared to land my last two shuriken in his back to finish him off, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Earth Style: Rock Sword!_" I had picked this up off of Tsuchigo with my _Sharingan_ a long time ago, but it cut my chakra down to one relatively strong jutsu, and no more _Lightning Blade_. It also meant I couldn't use my _Sharingan_ for a sustained period, but it didn't matter; by now, I had memorized all of Tsuchigo's moves, and was fully prepared for every one of them. Tsuchigo and I both raised our swords and charged each other, the playing field now evened up when it came to weapons. We exchanged slashes for several seconds without anything interesting happening, until Tsuchigo jumped back, making me drop my guard just long enough to jump back in with his sword aimed at my face.

I was barely able to move out of the way in time, his sword grazing the side of my face, and I ducked down and aimed my sword at his gut. He brought his sword down on top of me, and I was forced to roll out of the way, then jump back to avoid his second slash. I landed on the ground and he charged me, swinging his sword, attempting to cut my head off. I managed to block it, then get passed his guard and land my fist in his stomach, then spin around, swinging my sword at his neck, not giving him a chance to do anything about it.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Kagona landed on the ground while Igani and I were hacking away at each other, each trying to outdo the other, and each failing. Finally, Igani leaped out of the way to make room for Kagona to come at me with his own kunai raised, trying to cut me in half. I just barely managed to block with my kunai, and he jumped back to avoid any counterattacks from me, while Igani was behind me, trying to throw me off my guard. I only had one kunai left and three paper-bombs left, and that was it. I had to make this work, otherwise I was dead, even with the power of the Nine-Tails.

I made a hand sign and conjured three _Shadow Clones_, even though, with the help of the Nine-Tails, I had the chakra to conjure up about twenty. I made a _Rasengan_ with one, while my other two clones made a _Rasengan_ with each other. We charged Igani, while my other two clones charged Kagona, and they both prepared to dodge.

"Ugh!"

"What!"

A _Shadow Clone_ snuck up behind each of them, holding them in place while we charged with our _Rasengans_.


	63. Chapter 62: Secret of the Buster Field

SECRET OF THE BUSTER FIELD

[Matt's point-of-view] I prepared to finish Mikuro with my shuriken, but just before I could release them, he exploded in a wave of sonic, blasting me back and sending me sliding across the ground. I looked up into a tree and saw him there, looking down at me with an evil smile. He didn't even have the blood coming out of his mouth from when I countered him just before he pinned me. "What did you do?" I asked. "_Ninja Art: Sonic Clone Jutsu_," he said simply, which was all I needed to know.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Earth Style: Buster Field!_" He cast his jutsu just before I got him, and I was sent flying back and smashing into a pile of fallen trees. Luckily, I hadn't been buried in them, so I was able to see Tsuchigo, and was surprised to see him doubled over in exhaustion. "That last jutsu took a lot out of you, huh?" I asked, which I was happy to see. "That _Buster Field_ of yours, I noticed you don't have to weave any signs to activate it; that must make it an S-Rank jutsu, at least," I inquired him, hoping to stall time while I thought of a way out of the situation.

He chuckled slightly at my question, and said, "Yeah, you're right; it's an S-Rank jutsu, unique only to me. The _Earth Style: Buster Field_ is used as a one-hundred-percent-guaranteed means of escape, backed by the fact that it doesn't require any hand signs. The drawback, of course, is that it consumes an unearthly amount of chakra, more than that _Lightning Blade _of yours," he explained. That last bit came as a shock to me; I could only use _Lightning Blade_ four, maybe five times in one day without building up my chakra.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Igani elbowed my clone in the stomach, making him release his grip, and then Igani grabbed his shirt, lifted him up over his head, and threw him right into me. I had to waist my _Rasengan_ in order to defend myself, using it to blow up the clone and making it disappear in the process. I heard a puff of smoke from behind me and when I looked, I saw that all three of my clones had been taken out by Kagona. All I had left was a single clone and the bare chakra given to me by the Nine-Tails. Oh, well; it gave me just enough chakra for one more jutsu, that I was particularly optimistic about helping me. I wiped some of the blood off of my chin with my thumb and made five hand signs. I slammed my palm on the ground and said, "_Summoning Jutsu!_"

[Matt's point-of-view] "Why…won't…you …DIE!" I said as Mikuro and I slashed away at each other, myself having picked up a kunai off of the ground.

"Because, you little brat, you're nowhere near strong enough to kill me!" Mikuro said as he blocked everyone of my slashes without breaking a sweat. "Although, I must say, you certainly do pose a more interesting challenge than that Nine-Tails brat," he added in an undertone while we continued to fight.

"Heh, well, just be thankful you didn't have to fight him while he was actually _using_ the Nine-Tails' power," I told him, flashing back to the end of the Chunin Exams a few months ago. In my head, I went through some of the more painful moments of that fight, some of which still left scars today. I remembered the first time he used his Nine-Tails power against me, growing a fox-like aura, complete with ears and a tail. I also remembered him slamming me into the ground with his chakra-arm, and when he caught me with his arm, reeled me in, and packed all his strength into one punch that tore apart half the exam arena and sent me flying clear outside the arena. Finally, I remembered the two of us colliding our _Rasengans_, nearly killing us both, and ending the fight in a draw.

If I could come as close as I did to beating that, there was no excuse for me not beating this guy. Finally, he tried to break through my guard and stab me right in the face, but I ducked and landed my foot in his gut, sending him flying through the air. I didn't have enough physical energy to support a _Lion's Barrage_, otherwise this fight would be over, but I had a feeling that, plus the ending, would shake him up a bit. I looked over and saw that we had somehow made our way back to our camp, with our packs and supplies. This suited me perfectly.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I looked around for my _Rock Sword_, which I had dropped when I was hit, but Tsuchigo didn't give me any time, as he charged me with his own _Rock Sword_ raised. I jumped over him and landed right behind him, and he swung his sword around, but I jumped out of the way. I landed on the ground and charged him with my fist, hoping to get passed his guard. That didn't happen; he slashed me and I ducked him, but he raised his knee and landed it in my cheek. He then wrapped his hand around my throat and lifted me into the air, preparing to run me through with his _Rock Sword_. I summoned all the strength I had left and kicked him in the stomach, making him drop me, and allowing me to jump back. He recovered a moment later, but instead of charging me, he waited for me to come to him.

I looked around and found a kunai on the ground, picked it up, and charged him, hoping this would give me more of an advantage. Just before I got to him, I jumped over him, trying to slash him along the way, but he blocked it and I landed on a tree behind him. He spun around and swung his sword, cleaving the tree in two, and I jumped off it, letting the tree fall on top of him. He moved out of the way and the tree crashed to the ground, bringing up dust, and while he was distracted with that, I charged him from behind. He managed to see me coming when I was about five feet away from him, but his reactions were slow, and he didn't do anything to counter me.

I then figured out he was trying to trick me, and get me close enough to use _Earth Style: Buster Field_. I stopped in my tracks, and Tsuchigo smiled, knowing he had gotten me. I can't entirely say I would have had the same reaction. If I were trying to get someone within range of my jutsu, I wouldn't be happy that they had figured it out. Regardless, I raised my kunai and waited for him to come, a challenge which he stepped up to with gusto. We slashed around for a few seconds until we backed into a patch of trees that hadn't been uprooted and I jumped up and landed in a tree branch in an attempt to get away from him for a second or two. He rested for a second then jumped up after me, but I dropped off the branch and landed back on the ground, while his momentum kept him flying all the way up ten feet above where I had been.

I picked up two shuriken off the ground and threw them up at him, but he blocked them with his _Rock Sword_ and dropped down on top of me. I blocked his slash with my kunai and he landed on the ground, baring down on me with all his strength.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Both Kagona and Igani jumped through tree branches, dodging small balls of water moving at the speed of bullets.

"Is it me, or did this just get a lot harder?" Kagona asked, definitely not enjoying himself anymore.

"Seriously, it's like we're not even fighting the same kid!" Igani agreed, preparing to dodge my next attack.

"Well, we're not," Kagona said, bracing himself to jump. My assistance, which took the form of a huge toad a little bit bigger than a human, hopped around on the tree branches with me on its back like he was a horse. While he was still jumping, he shot his tongue at the two of them, which stretched out of its mouth and came at them with more than enough force to break bones. Kagona dropped out of the way of the tongue and my toad, whose name was Gamakenka, swung his tongue around at Igani, who barely had time to jump out of the way.

Gamakenka made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Liquid Bullet Barrage!_" He fired about a dozen small balls of water at each of them, both of which had a very hard time of dodging. "Boy, I gotta say, it's good to be doing this again. I'm glad you summoned me, Naruto," Gamakenka said to me.

"It's no problem. Besides, I needed the help, and I think Chief Toad might have been just a bit too big for this situation, and that's even if he agreed to help me," I told him while the two of us waited for Kagona and Igani to make their next move.

"Hah! Yeah. Although you did summon him to fight that American shinobi, didn't you?" he asked me.

"Yeah, and he lost!" I said angrily, momentarily flashing back to the fight.

"Hehehe, yeah. He didn't hear the end of that for a month, mainly from those kids of his," Gamakenka informed me.

"Oh, no kidding? Well he deserved it for all the crap he's given me in the past," I said to him.

"Well, anyway, what say we finish this up?" Gamakenka suggested, making some hand signs.

"Alright, let's do it!" I said, the evil grin on my face this time.

"Tch! Fall back!" Kagona said, and he and Igani hopped off in the other direction.

"Hey! Where you think you're going!" I said.

"Party-poopers," Gamakenka said.

"Oh well, I could use the break," I said, getting off of Gamakenka and dropping to the ground, then laying down.

Gamakenka smashed to the ground next to me and laid down as well, saying, "Well, I guess I'll stick around, in case they come back."

[Matt's point-of-view] I landed on the ground and Mikuro landed ten feet away, then charged me with a kunai. I blocked his slash flawlessly, then forced him back and jumped away, waiting for him to follow me. Instead, he just threw some shuriken up at me, but I back-flipped off the tree branch and held on to it, coming out hanging like a monkey. Mikuro took the opportunity to come after me with his kunai, but I dropped off the tree branch and landed on the ground, knowing that now was my perfect chance. I reached into my backpack, which I had on my back, and pulled out a weapon that was going to hopefully throw me the fight.

It was a folded up demon-wind shuriken, which was a giant shuriken with curved blades. I unfurled the shuriken, putting it at about a yard in diameter, and prepared to throw it up at Mikuro. He didn't seem remotely scared, in fact, he actually seemed very amused, but if my plan worked, that would change. I threw my shuriken up at him, and his smile grew. He jumped back, letting the demon-wind shuriken fly up passed him, but that was where my plan went into place. He looked straight out in front of him and his eyes widened at the second demon-wind shuriken coming at him, with no way out. It was a _Shadow Shuriken Jutsu_, in which the user hid the second shuriken in the shadow of the first.

It worked to perfection as he looked helplessly at the shuriken coming at him. I watched as if it were happening in slow motion, the shuriken piercing his gut and sending blood spattering across the ground. Mikuro crashed to the ground, knocking the shuriken loose, and he went rolling into a tree. I was hoping he was dead, but no such luck, as he slowly got back to his feet, his eyes glazed over from being barely conscious.

"Ready for more?" I asked, fully intending on giving it to him.

"Later," he said, and he turned around and leaped off.

"Okay," I said, confused, but not really complaining.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Tsuchigo and I kept hacking away at each other, trying as hard as we could to kill the other. "Tsuchigo!" We both looked over and saw Katsuna standing in a tree, surveying the scene.

"What is it? Finally decided to step in and help?" Tsuchigo asked bitterly.

"Let's go. Forget the Leaf ninja, we have work to do," Katsuna told him. Tsuchigo didn't wait to be told twice, and they both leaped off, leaving me rather confused. I decided not to question it and went to help the guys.


	64. Chapter 63: Beginning of the End

BEGINNING OF THE END

[Matt's point-of-view] At first, I was actually really happy that Mikuro had retreated, but then something occurred to me. We had been fighting for probably an hour, why on earth would he just suddenly retreat when he still had plenty of energy left, or at least enough to walk. I tried to just let it go, but my brain wouldn't stop nagging at me, so I finally decided to follow him to see what he was up to.

[Naruto's point-of-view] Gamakenka and I just laid there while I built my chakra back up. I was just laying there, completely relaxed, but then something kept nagging at my brain. They had plenty of jutsu that were strong enough to counter Gamakenka, why didn't they use them? Was it just because they didn't have the chakra. No, I couldn't believe that; they had been using no chakra for the longest time, and they had to have been using the times that we weren't fighting for chances to build it up. It kept bothering me, until I finally got up, sparking Gamakenka's concern. "Hm? What's wrong?" he said, getting up as well.

"Something's just bugging me, I'm gonna go check it out; you can go back if you want," I suggested to him.

"Mm? Alright. Just summon me back if you need anything," he said to me, and he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

I leaped off in the direction of Igani and Kagona, keeping a careful watch for ambushes.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I leapt through trees in the direction that Katsuna and Tsuchigo had gone, really wishing I had enough chakra to support my _Sharingan_, which would have helped against ambushes. I didn't know what those two were up to, but I didn't like it. I only hoped Matt and Naruto were still alright. It momentarily crossed my mind to go and check on them, but then I concluded that they could take care of themselves and kept going. I finally got to the hideout and saw them, all five of them, bowing down to Orochimaru, with Kabuto Yakushi, the kid who had come out with him, at his side. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I had to guess it wasn't good. I looked around for Sasuke, but he was nowhere to be found.

I looked back at the seven of them and felt my heart drop as every last one of them were looking at me. I thought about running, but with Orochimaru there, I knew I wouldn't get very far. "Fantastic…well, I guess this is it for me," I said to myself, prepared to go down fighting. None of them charged me, and none of them made any hand signs, which I found rather odd. Well, what the heck? I jumped down from the tree I was standing in and landed on the ground, walking slowly over to them. Each and every one of them were smiling evilly at me as I walked to my death.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Kakashi Hatake?" said Orochimaru. "It really has been too long."

"Not nearly long enough if you ask me," I said to him nervously. His evil grin only got wider as I inched closer and closer.

"Dude!" I turned around and saw Naruto and Matt running at me like they were going to tackle me. They both skidded to a halt, Matt looking furious. "What's your problem! You know you can't take them on your own!" he said to me, which I couldn't argue with.

[Matt's point-of-view] I looked at Orochimaru, every second of doing so increasing my nerves. This guy…whatever he was, he was definitely not human. The only thing keeping me from running back home to mommy was my promise to Naruto, although that was on a very thin line.

"Alright, are we ready to finish these guys?" Mikuro said, eyeing me with a evil grin. "Is it me, or did they just get a whole lot more confident?" I asked, hoping it was the former.

"Yes, it does seem like they've gotten more sure of themselves," Kakashi said, eyeing Tsuchigo and Katsuna.

"Yeah, that's because we've all had our chakras replenished by Lord Orochimaru," Mikuro told us happily, eyeing their leader with great delight.

"Oh, it was nothing," Orochimaru said, "Anything to help my more loyal subordinates."

"This is bad," I said, backing up slightly. "They got _all_ their chakra back? There's no way we can beat them!" Naruto said, backing up as well. All five of them started laughing as they started walking towards us.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I've been conserving and building up my chakra, and got it all the way back to maximum myself," I said, kind of hoping I wasn't the only one.

"Yeah, so have I," Naruto said, which made me feel relieved.

"Good, that will help. Try to use as little chakra as you possibly can though, we're going to need it for these two," Kakashi advised, referring to Orochimaru and Kabuto as he backed up as well. As one, we all jumped back in different directions, quickly followed by the five of them. I was pursued by Mikuro, who seemed to be very intent on slaughtering me.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

I fired a huge fireball at Mikuro, but he made some hand signs of his own and said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Shield!_" he conjured a sphere of sonic around him which blocked my fireball, and I landed on a tree branch and prepared for my next attack.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I skidded across the ground, picked up a kunai that had been left behind, and charged Tsuchigo, who had a _Rock Sword _ready. We slashed at each other, but neither of us were able to get through, until Tsuchigo finally put all of his strength into his sword, knocking my knife out of my hand. He tried to cut me in half, but I jumped out of the way and made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a fireball down at him, but he dived out of the way of it and made some hand signs of his own.

"_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" About fifty rock shards shot up at me from the ground, leaving me with no way to dodge.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured a single clone, which threw me out of the way and took the needles for me. I landed on the ground, where Tsuchigo charged me with a _Rock Sword_. I jumped up over him when he tried to slash me, and when I landed right behind him, I tried to get him from behind, but he elbowed me in the stomach, stopping me in my tracks. He then grabbed me by the throat, lifted me into the air, and held his sword at my throat. I didn't know how I was going to get out of this, and before I could come to a decision, Tsuchigo's sword was coming at me. The sword came within an inch of my throat, before Tsuchigo's hand jerked back as he coughed up blood.

He dropped me and wrapped his hands around his stomach, still hacking up blood. _What's going on? I thought his chakra had been replenished. Why is he coughing up blood? _It was almost a whole minute before Tsuchigo stopped coughing, and he slowly got back to his feet, wiping blood off his chin.

"What was that?" I asked him, keeping a close eye on him for sneak attacks.

"That snake-in-the-grass Orochimaru. I knew those chakra replenishing pills came with a side-effect. I never liked that man; the only reason I joined him is because he's paying me good money…thousands," he explained to me.

"Wait, what village are you from?" I asked.

"I'm a rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Stones," he explained. "I despise the Tsuchikage with all my passion, so I left, hiring myself out to the highest bidder," he explained. "Sorry, Kakashi, it's nothing personal; I just need to kill you in order to get paid," and he raised his _Rock Sword_ at me once more.

"But…oh, very well then," I said, figuring no amount of coaxing could convince him to trade sides and readied myself.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "Alright! This is much easier now!" Kagona said as he fired a _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ at me. I tried to dodge the fireballs, but a few of them caught up to me and blasted me back to the ground, shrouding me in a cloud of smoke and dust. A larger puff of smoke came out of that, and when it cleared, I was sitting on top of Gamakenka.

"Sorry, Gamakenka, their chakras are replenished, so they're a lot stronger now than they were last time; can I have your help?" I asked, hoping he wasn't going to pull a Chief-Toad on me.

"Ah, sure, why not, it's not like I've got anything better to do," he said, making some hand signs. "_Water Style: Liquid Bullet Barrage!_" He fired a barrage of little balls of water at the two of them, but they both made hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Fire Wall!_"

"_Wood Style: Wood Wall!_"

A wall of fire shot up from the ground in front of Kagona, while a wall of wood sprouted up in front of Igani, both of their jutsu blocking Gamakenka's.

"Whoa, wait, _Wood Style_? The only person to have ever known _Wood Style_ was the First Hokage!" Gamakenka said to me.

"Wait…then how does this guy know it?" I asked.

"Lord Orochimaru, of course," Igani said proudly. "He implanted some of the First Hokage's DNA into me, and as a result, I can now use _Wood Style_ as well, albeit not anywhere near on the same scale," he added in an undertone.

"Tch, Orochimaru…how did I know _he_ had something to do with this?" Gamakenka said bitterly.

"Well, I've seen the extent of their powers, and if we try hard enough, we can get to them," I said, and Gamakenka braced to jump.

"_Ninja Art: Vine Ropes!_" Before we had even moved, vines sprouted up out of the ground, wrapping around Gamakenka's wrists, ankles, and waist. "It's time to shut that annoying little toad up!" Igani said evilly. Wood two feet thick shot up out of the ground, right under Gamakenka, running him clean through, and knocking me off. I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched him, standing there, unable to fall. and that was when I realized what was wrong with this picture; there was no blood. Gamakenka disappeared in a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, he came out, not as a log, but as a whole tree. Granted, it wasn't an overly large tree, but it was bigger than me.

About twenty small balls of water blasted out of the trees at the two of them, but they were unable to get out of the way. They both crashed into the ground, followed by a bunch of branches, but they both immediately got back to their feet, and both made some hand signs. 7 "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

"_Wood Style: Wood Spear!_" I had seen this combo plenty of times before, which meant I knew how to dodge it even without the speed of Gamakenka. I ran out of the way of the fireball, and pulled out a kunai to block the _Wood Spear_. They both jumped up into tree branches, then barreled down on top of me from either side, Igani with a _Wood Sword_, Kagona with a _Dragon Saber_. Gamakenka dropped down and landed right next to me, in front of Kagona, while I raised my kunai to defend against Igani. Just when we were about to take them both out, Gamakenka leaped up, leaving me wide open.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going!" I said, watching him land in a tree.

"Naruto!" I looked over and saw Matt dropping towards me, a _Chidori_ in his hand. I immediately knew what to do, and when he got to me, I grabbed his free hand, swung him around, he kicked Kagona away, and I threw him at Igani.

[Matt's point-of-view] "I got you now!" I said as I flew at Igani, leaving him with zero chance of escape. Blood spattered the ground as I hit him head-on, landing _Chidori_ right in his gut. My momentum from Naruto's throw kept us flying through the air, and when we landed, we slid across the ground, blood smearing from Igani's wound. When we came to a halt, he was barely alive. "One more time!" I said as I wrenched _Chidori_ out of him, and prepared to strike again. This time, I landed it right into his heart, sending blood flying everywhere and killing him instantly. "Alright, Kagona, I'm comin' after you!" I said, and I got off of Igani, and went back towards Naruto.


	65. Chapter 64: Rasengan vs Sonic Armor

RASENGAN VS SONIC ARMOR

[Naruto's point-of-view] "Well, now, while he's taking care of that, how 'bout you and I finish this?" I said to Mikuro, who was already making hand signs.

"_Ninja Art: Sonic Wave!_" I ran out of the way of the wave, then charged him head-on with my fist raised. He caught my fist and tried to knee me in the stomach, but I met it with my own knee, making us both grunt in pain. Mikuro tried to punch me in the face with his other fist, but I caught it, and we were both held there, unable to move for being caught by one another. Finally, Mikuro wrenched his hand out of mine and jumped back, then made some hand signs. "_Ninja Art: Sonic Wave!_" I rolled out of the way of his jutsu, but instead of charging him, leaped up into the trees to get away from him. I took the time to rest and figure out how I was going to beat him, when I looked up and saw Mikuro directly above me with a _Ninja Art: Sonic Sphere_ in his hand.

I rolled off the tree branch I was standing on and he crashed on through it, the both of us heading towards the ground. I was going to use my chakra to stick to a tree, but Mikuro landed his _Sonic Sphere_ in my gut, making me disappear in a puff of smoke. "_Rasengan!_" I came down on top of him with my jutsu, and he held up his own jutsu to defend himself. We were both still in the air when we collided, sending chakra blasting in every direction. He deactivated his _Ninja Art: Sonic Sphere_ and let my _Rasengan_ fall passed his shoulder, and he landed his knee in my stomach. He then swung his leg around and landed his foot in my stomach, sending me flying and crashing into the ground. He landed on both feet while I was still crawling out of the dirt, and he waited for me to get back to my feet.

I grabbed a kunai that was sticking out of the ground and charged him, making his eyes narrow and his grin widen in amusement. He made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Shield!_" I saw the jutsu coming in time and just barely managed to come to a stop before it hit me. "_Ninja Art: Sonic Burst!_" The _Sonic Shield_ exploded, sending me flying back and smashing through a tree.

"Ow," I said, as I lay on my back, unable to move. Mikuro appeared in a tree branch above me and pointed his arm down at me, ready to blast me. I rolled out of the way just before the _Ninja Art: Sonic Wave_ hit the ground, and sent up a dust cloud into the air. I got to my feet and grabbed a shuriken off the ground, which I threw up at Mikuro, but was blocked by a kunai. He threw his kunai down at me, but I barrel-rolled out of the way and waited for his next move.

"Alright, brat," Mikuro said, quite clearly annoyed. "You are getting on my last nerve, and I am _sick of it!_" He made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Armor!_" His entire body became engulfed in a sonic aura, much in the same style of Hatsuji Korero's _Fire Style: Fire Armor_. "I am going to put an end to you, right here, right now," he said in a deadly tone, that made me wonder just how strong that _Sonic Armor_ jutsu was. He blasted off of the tree branch, detaching the branch completely, and shot down at me with his fist raised. I tried to block it, but immediately on contact, his _Sonic Armor_ caused an explosion, sending me flying back and slamming into a tree. I dropped to the ground, but the impact from the explosion and the tree made me unable to get back up.

Mikuro stepped on my back and I heard him make some hand signs, then say, "_Ninja Art: Dual Sonic Wave!_" I noticed he had canceled his _Sonic Armor_, so just before he blasted me, I grabbed a kunai off the ground and ran it into his ankle, making him scream in pain and stumble off of me. I got back to my feet and tackled him, driving him into the dirt and putting the kunai at his throat. Instead of being frightened at the prospect of dying, he seemed amused that I had gotten to him. "You've gotten better, brat, but it's still not enough to beat me!" He kneed me in the stomach and wrapped his hand around my throat, lifting me into the air, and getting to his feet.

He lifted me over his head, and grabbed my kunai out of my hand, preparing to use it to kill me. He thrusted the kunai at my gut, and my body moved on its own, kicking him in his gut and making him let go of me and stumble back in pain. He looked back at me and his jaw dropped slightly when he looked into my eyes. I knew what he was gaping at; I had felt this several times in the past. My eyes were now red slits, due to the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra leaking out. I didn't grow any ears or tails, although I did become surrounded in an aura of red chakra.

"This could get interesting," Mikuro said as he jumped back. He made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Armor!_" He became engulfed in that same aura of sonic, and we both charged each other at the same time. We both tried to punch each other in the face, but we both caught the other's fist, the impact sending a shockwave twenty feet out. Mikuro swung his foot around and aimed it at my side, but I let go of his fist and blocked it, then knocked it away. He tried to punch me in the face again, but I landed my knee in his stomach, stopping him in his tracks and making him spit out blood. Now that I had him distracted, I put all my strength into my fist and landed it in his face, causing an explosion and sending him flying back and smashing through a pile of fallen trees.

The Nine-Tails' power had increased my strength dramatically, and now I was on equal status with Mikuro, which was good to see. Mikuro got back to his feet, made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Dual Sonic Wave!_" I disappeared in a burst of speed, much like Matt, and his _Dual Sonic Wave_ flew into some fallen trees, blasting them apart. I came out right behind him with my fist raised, but he jumped out of the way just in time. While still in the air, he said, _Ninja Art: Sonic Sphere!_" He fired a ball of compressed sonic down at me, but I super-sped out of the way, and it blasted the ground apart. By now, I knew better than to do the same trick twice, so I sped around, picking up shuriken along the way, and came out in a tree branch and threw them all up at him.

He made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Shield!_" His shield blasted all of the shuriken out of the air, but when the shield dissipated, I super-sped up behind him with my fist raised. Now, there was nothing he could do about it, except let his _Sonic Armor_ cushion the blow for him. It did its job well, as I could barely touch him, but the shockwave from my Nine-Tails aura colliding with his _Sonic Armor_ sent him flying down and smashing into the ground. The shockwave had also sent me flying further into the air, making me perfectly vulnerable for Mikuro's _Ninja Art: Sonic Sphere_.

The jutsu hit me square in the stomach, exploding on impact and sending me flying even further into the air. The Nine-Tails' aura did its job well, blocking the brunt of the impact, but it didn't change the fact that if I didn't find a way to cushion my fall before I hit the ground, I was in a lot of trouble. Luckily, there were lots of tree branches on the way down, so I just had to grab one and swing my way to safety. Unluckily, my reflexes weren't that good, even with the Nine-Tails' influence, so they merely served to painfully slow my fall to the ground. I got to my knees, and another _Ninja Art: Sonic Sphere_ landed right under me, blasting me into the air and sending me flying into a patch of fallen trees.

By the time the dust cleared, I was already on my feet, waiting for more. Mikuro appeared right in front of me with his fist raised, but I managed to catch him by the wrist, only taking damage from the shockwave caused by the _Sonic Armor_, which really wasn't much pain at all. I swung him around and threw him through the air, and he landed on his feet, skidding across the ground, and waited for me to make the next move. I made a hand sign and said, "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" A single clone appeared right next to me, with which I formed a _Rasengan_.

"_Ninja Art: Sonic Sphere!_" his jutsu appeared in his hand, and my clone swung me around and launched me at him, while he charged me head-on. Our jutsu collided, sending a shockwave and a lot of chakra bursting in every direction, blasting a ten-foot crater into the ground. We both fought to outdo each other, but we couldn't escape the fact; our jutsu were evenly matched. Finally, we poured the last bit of our strength into our jutsu, and they both exploded with ten times more force then they had before, sending us both flying back and smashing through many trees. I had no idea what state Mikuro was in, but the Nine-Tails had pretty well shielded me from the impact, so I was still ready to go.

Mikuro appeared right in front of me with his fist raised, amped up with his _Sonic Armor_. He landed it in my face, sending me tearing through the ground and coming out in a clearing - I think the same one he made very early during our first fight. I got to my feet and Mikuro appeared right in front of me again with his fist raised, which he landed right in my stomach. The fist didn't really hurt, but he grabbed my shirt to keep me from flying back, then swung me around, and threw me back through the trees, right back to where I just came from. I balanced myself and just barely managed to block his punch, but the shockwave sent us both back, and I came to a stop right next to the clearing for the hideout. I waited for Mikuro to come at me again, but he seemed hesitant now, possibly because he knew I could counter him. I ran to where Mikuro had been, and found him crawling out of a tree trunk that had fallen on top of him when he had been sent flying.

"Well? You ready for more?" I asked, a slight growl in my voice due to the Nine-Tails. "Of course! It'll take a lot more than that to beat me!" he said, getting back to his feet and making some hand signs. He disappeared in a burst of speed and came out right behind me, saying, "_Ninja Art: Sonic Sphere!_" I didn't even have time to react before his _Sonic Sphere_ was in my back, blasting me forward and sending me tearing through the ground. I charged back out of the trees with my fist raised, and he intercepted my punch with one of his own. Our chakra blew trees aside as we both fought to not get beaten.

Finally, Mikuro poured all of his strength into his fist, blasting me with sonic, and making me disappear in a puff of smoke. "What?" Mikuro said in shock. I flew out of the trees above him with a _Rasengan_ in my hand, leaving him in too much shock to counter. I landed the _Rasengan_ smack into his chest, making him spit out blood, and then go spiraling through about a dozen trees and coming to a stop near a small cliff that had been destroyed at some point. I walked out of the trees towards him to see if he was still alive, my Nine-Tails aura disappearing as I did so. My _Rasengan_ tore the flesh on his stomach apart, leaving nothing but dead skin cells and a bloody burn.

"Well? You wanna give up _now_?" I asked him, pretty well knowing the answer.

"No, I'm not done yet, I have one last jutsu left to use," he said in a deadly whisper. He made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Supersonic Explosion!_" His body literally exploded in a wave of sonic that traveled at a descent pace towards me, and I really began to wonder if I could get away from it. I figured there wasn't a whole lot of point in not trying, so I turned around and started leaping through trees as fast as I could. Unfortunately, my fastest wasn't enough to outrun the explosion, so I would just have to hope the explosion would cease before it hit me. Just when I thought I was about to outrun it, the explosion hit me, blasting me through the air and sending me smashing through trees. I was just barely conscious enough to look at the explosion and see it come at me. I knew I was going to die, until, "_Chidori!_"

Matt came out of nowhere and met the explosion with his jutsu, just barely able to keep the explosion at bay. "It's no use, get out of here while you still can!" I told him, but he had other ideas.

He held out his other hand and said, "_Rasengan!_" He formed the _Rasengan_ and collided it with the explosion, now doing a much better job of keeping it off of me. He put every ounce of his strength into his jutsu, until the explosion erupted into an even bigger explosion that tore the ground apart, and I just barely saw Matt disappear in a puff of smoke before the shockwave sent me flying back about a hundred yards, to the point where I didn't even know where I was anymore. The moment I stopped rolling across the ground, I fell unconscious, hoping Matt and Kakashi-sensei had it handled.


	66. Chapter 65: Final Reign

FINAL REIGN

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I watched the whole scenario of Matt saving Naruto from Mikuro's final jutsu with my _Sharingan_, really glad to see the both of them were still alive. Meanwhile, Tsuchigo was busy looking for me, since I had used the distraction caused by Mikuro's attack to escape and make sure I wasn't needed.

"Alright, Kakashi, this game of hide-and-seek is getting really boring!" Tsuchigo said as he looked around trees and behind bushes. I took the time to build up my chakra, since I had used over half of it during our fight, and Tsuchigo passed right on by the tree I was standing in and kept going. After he was hidden behind a few trees, I figured this fight wasn't going to end by just looking at him, so I decided to follow him quietly and set up for an ambush. Unfortunately, I wasn't quiet enough, because he made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" A bunch of rocks shot up right at me, catching me completely off guard. They all hit me, and I disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Tsuchigo said, "How did I know? Oh well, you can't hide from me forever."

He hopped up into the tree branches to get a better look, so I immediately hid behind some leaves while he surveyed the area I was in. When he was looking in the opposite direction, I moved silently through the trees in order to better prepare myself. When I was in the perfect position, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" He didn't even see me coming, so I caught him completely off guard, but unfortunately, he had very good reflexes.

"_Earth Style: Buster Field!_" His _Buster Field_ blew back the _Dragon Flame_ just enough to allow him to get out of the way, the rest of the _Dragon Flame_ burning up about a half-dozen trees. I looked up at him, and saw him clear me completely, then drop to the ground. The moment he landed, he made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" This time, I easily dodged the needles, but that wasn't Tsuchigo's main motive. He jumped onto a branch then leaped all the way up to me with his fist raised. I blocked his fist fine, but his strength still hurt my arm, and he used my resulting flinch to land his fist in my stomach, making me spit out blood.

He spun upside-down, and landed his shin in the top of my head, sending me flipping down and smashing into the ground. When the dust cleared, I was on all fours, unable to stand up. Tsuchigo dropped down, swung off a branch to slow his fall, and landed fifteen feet away from me. I made some hand signs, got to my feet facing him, and said, "_Fire Style: Meteor Flame Jutsu!_"

I fired a medium-sized ball of fire at Tsuchigo, but he made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" He slammed his fist into the ground, bringing up a wall of rocks that the _Meteor Flame_ blew apart. When the dust cleared, Tsuchigo was gone, and when I looked up, he was there, diving down on top of me with his fist raised. "Okay, obviously going easy on you isn't going to work, so it's time to go all out," I said, and I opened my left eye, revealing the _Sharingan_.

"Alright, I was waiting for this," said Tsuchigo happily. "Now I'll be able to say I beat you at your full power." He made some hand signs and pulled a _Rock Sword_ out of the ground, and then charged me with it. I pulled a kunai off the ground to counter him with, and with the help of my _Sharingan_, did so almost instantly. I got passed his guard and cut his hand, making him drop his _Rock Sword_, and I held my kunai at his throat. "You know what I'm about to do, right?" he said to me with a grin.

"Oh…right," I said, wondering how I could be so stupid.

"_Earth Style: Buster Field!_" I was blown away by his attack, then sent rolling across the ground. When I got to a kneeling position, Tsuchigo was already charging me with his _Rock Sword_ raised. I parried all of his slashes with another kunai, then ducked down, swept his feet out from under him, and landed my other foot in his chin, sending him up and back down onto his back. I stepped on his chest, hoping Tsuchigo didn't have enough chakra to support a _Buster Field_, and was pleased to see it appeared he didn't.

"Alright, it's time to finish this," I said, making some hand signs.

"Not yet!" Tsuchigo said, landing his fist in my shin. I was afraid he had snapped my leg in two, as the pain made me stumble off him and lower myself into a kneeling position to keep the pressure off of it. Tsuchigo got back to his feet and grabbed his _Rock Sword_, holding it at my throat and preparing to finish me with it. The only way I was going to get out of this situation alive was if I breathed through the pain, the downside being I could make my leg even worse. Of course, it was better than the alternative. Tsuchigo slashed and I fell backward to avoid it. I then got back to my feet and jumped away from him, ignoring the pain in my leg, and landing twenty feet away from him in order to devise a counterattack.

I kept my weight off my injured leg, since I didn't want to break it completely, but Tsuchigo seemed to realize that he had me, as his evil smile that he got whenever he had the advantage had returned. _Of all the times not to have Sakura nearby,_ I thought to myself as Tsuchigo advanced on me with his _Rock Sword_. I made some hand signs and pulled out a _Rock Sword_ of my own, preparing to use it and my _Sharingan_ to defend myself against him. I managed to block all his slashes even while kneeling on the ground, but I knew that would change sooner or later. Finally, I got to my feet and went on the offensive, slashing at Tsuchigo with all my strength.

He managed to block me at first, but then I got around his guard, slashing him twice across the chest, then ducking down and coming back up, bringing my sword up through his torso. I was thankful my ankle held out, since if it broke, or even if it sprained, I was a dead man. Tsuchigo fell back and landed on the ground, blood pouring from all of his wounds. I figured I finally had him, until he made some hand signs. I jumped back in a last-ditch effort to evade his jutsu, but apparently, that was exactly what he was waiting for. "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" I was well into the air when he cast his jutsu, which meant I had no way out. I still had my _Rock Sword_, but I didn't know rather that would do me much good against the dozen or so rocks flying at me from below.

I managed to block all but three of them, which landed in my gut, thigh, and shoulder. Blood poured from the wounds onto the ground, splattering Tsuchigo across the face. He didn't seem to be disgusted by it, actually, he seemed to be quite proud of himself for injuring me so badly. I landed on the ground, and one by one, wrenched all of the rocks out of my gut and threw them to the side. Tsuchigo watched in enjoyment as I grunted with the removal of each spike. When I threw the last spike to the ground, Tsuchigo charged me with his _Rock Sword_, but I was fully prepared to counter it. We both exchanged slashes several times before I jumped up into a tree branch, waiting for Tsuchigo to follow me.

Instead, he made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Crevasse Breaker!_" He slammed his fist into the ground, and the crack that resulted hit the tree, uprooting it and sending it and me plummeting to the ground. "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" I sincerely doubted I was going to last through another round of those; luckily, I didn't need to.

"_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" All of my rocks came up and clashed with Tsuchigo's rocks, bouncing off each other and knocking each other out of the air. I landed on the ground, and the tree landed behind me, bringing up dust, while Tsuchigo hesitated to charge. Seeing the fear in his eyes, I charged with the _Rock Sword_, having pretty high confidence that I would get passed his guard. We slashed at each other several times before I realized that my hypothesis was a dud. He was keeping up with me perfectly, even with my _Sharingan_. Apparently, his fear had increased his reflexes to the point where he was actually fast enough to keep up with me. Although, I knew as his confidence gradually increased, that would change.

Finally, I jumped away from him and landed twenty feet away, visibly confusing him. I made some hand signs and said, "_Lightning Blade!_" I formed a ball of lightning in my hand, making Tsuchigo smile in anticipation.

"Gonna go all out, eh? Well, that's fine with me, I'd hate to kill you when you're not at your best," he said to me, preparing to counter me. I charged him with the _Lightning Blade_, fully intent on running him through, but Tsuchigo made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" He slammed his fist onto the ground and a wall of huge rocks sprung up to block me, but it wasn't enough. I jumped clear over the rocks and dived down on top of Tsuchigo, who seemed too shocked to try and counter me. I hit him with _Lightning Blade_, sending blood spattering back several feet, my hand lodged into his chest. I watched him stand there, in pure shock, and unable to move, while I was happy I had finally ended it. That was when he turned into dirt and exploded, which I had seen coming with my _Sharingan_ just before it happened.

"Alright, why don't you come on out," I said, and Tsuchigo jumped down out of the trees behind me and landed on the ground.

"Alright, no more playing around; we come at each other with everything we have, and no holding back," Tsuchigo said to me, making some hand signs.

After a moment, I said, "Right."

I recognized the hand signs he was making as he slammed his palm on the ground and said, "_Summoning Jutsu!_" Nothing happened, and I began to wonder if his _Summoning_ hadn't worked. That was when I felt a slight trembling in the ground, and immediately jumped up. The ground exploded, and out came a giant mole about twice the size of me, with razor sharp teeth and claws.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I blew my jutsu at the creature, particularly into its mouth, and it got hit head-on and was ignited, falling back and crashing into the ground. I landed ten feet away from it and watched it disappear in a puff of smoke, through which Tsuchigo charged with a _Rock Sword_ raised. I quickly grabbed a kunai off the ground and used it to parry his slash, and I then ducked down and landed my kunai in his gut, making him stop cold.

"_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" The calling of the jutsu had come from nowhere, which meant the Tsuchigo I had attacked was another clone. I had seen it all with my _Sharingan_, which meant I had known this was a clone the whole time, and also meant I was fully prepared for this jutsu. I found an opening in the _Needles_ as they came at me and jumped through them, allowing the needles to pass each other and fly off in random directions. I landed, and the ground under my feet exploded, sending me flying through the air with Tsuchigo charging me from below.

He jumped at me, but I grabbed both of his wrists and landed my knee in his stomach, forcing him back and landing ten feet away from where I landed. We both made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Crevasse Breaker!_"

"_Lightning Blade!_" I formed a ball of lightning in my hand while Tsuchigo slammed his fist into the ground, making the ground cave in in a line towards me. I sidestepped the cave-in and charged him head-on with my _Lightning Blade_ ready.

"_Earth Style: Buster Field!_" I was two feet away from him when he cast his jutsu, which sent me flying back and smashing into the ground, making me take a moment to recover. While I was still recovering, Tsuchigo had jumped up high into the air and was now diving down on top of me, his _Rock Sword_ aimed at the top of my head.

In the blink of an eye, I made some hand signs and said, "_Lightning Blade!_" He had no room to dodge, which meant I had this match won. I blasted my way through his _Rock Sword_, aiming my _Lightning Blade_ square into his heart. Unfortunately, my aim wasn't true, and I ended up piercing his chest, sending blood spattering in every direction. I could tell with my _Sharingan_ that this was the real Tsuchigo, which meant I had won. Despite this fact, Tsuchigo was still alive, but just barely, wrenching himself free from my arm and stumbling back, blood pooling on the ground. He eventually dropped to his knees, gasping in pain. I figured it would be cruel to let him suffer like this, so I activated another _Lightning Blade_ and walked toward him. Lightning blasted ten feet into the air.

[Matt's point-of-view] Kagona and I stared at each other, Kagona still fuming about his partner's death.

"You ready to finish this?" I asked him.

"Bring it on," he answered.


	67. Chapter 66: Firefight

FIREFIGHT

"Alright, you ready to finish this?" I asked, as Kagona stared at me, waiting for me to make a move.

"Bring it on," he said, making some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He fired a huge ball of fire at me, but I jumped out of the way and it crashed into the ground, sending embers and rubble everywhere.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired twenty tiny fireballs down at him, but he managed to jump out of the way of them all, completely unharmed.

While still in the air, he made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon's Shotgun!_" He spat out about a half-dozen tiny fireballs at me, smaller than _Phoenix Flower_, that traveled at about the speed of light. I didn't see them coming that fast, so they all smashed into the ground around me, bringing up a smoke cloud around me. Kagona landed on the ground and waited to see if I was still alive, and I charged out of the smoke with a kunai, ready to cut his head off with it. He pulled out a kunai of his own and parried all of my slashes, then jumping back to avoid anymore. I threw my kunai up at him, but he blocked it with his and waited for me to make the next move.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a huge fireball up at him, but he flipped upside-down and dived out of the way, letting the fireball fly up into space. Kagona landed on the ground and charged me with his fist raised. I caught his fist, but he landed his knee in my stomach, then jerked my arm down and towards him, smacking my head against his knee and making me spit out blood. He let go of my hand and took his knee out of my stomach, then landed his other fist in my stomach, sending me flying up ten feet into the air, then coming back down and smacking into the ground. Yeah…this guy had definitely been a lot better than he was letting on while Igani had been around.

Oh, well. I still had more tricks up my sleeve as well. Kagona was looking at me with a confident smirk, and it was then that I figured out he still wasn't using his full power. "We gonna play all day, or are you going to come at me with everything you've got?" I asked him, hoping I would inspire him to do so.

"Kid, if I came at you with everything I had, you'd be dead in an instant," he informed me, still with that confident smirk.

"We'll see about that," I said as I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Ember Shot!_" I fired a medium-sized fireball at him, but he sidestepped it and let it fly by. Behind him, the fireball exploded, sending about a dozen tiny fireballs in every direction. Unfortunately, he was in just the right spot to avoid all of them without even moving, which made my jutsu completely useless.

"You forget, I'm a _Fire Style_ expert," he told me, "I know everything there is to know about each and every kind of _Fire Style_ jutsu in creation, and can perform a great deal of them."

"Who are you? What's your history?" I asked him, not really expecting to get an answer.

"I am Kagona Ameko, a former Hidden Leaf jonin," he told me. That was when something sparked in the back of my memory.

"Oh, yeah, I read something about you; you were a candidate in consideration for the Fourth Hokage, but when you weren't picked, you left the Leaf in a rage to pursue greatness in another village," I remembered.

"Hm, that's right," he said to me, seeming to go through the whole scenario in his head. "I was supposed to be the Fourth Hokage; many in the village thought it should be me, but no. That buffoon, the Third Hokage, ignored my many talents and decided to pick the Yellow Flash of the Leaf, Minato Namikaze," he explained to me. "Oh, I'll admit, he was good, possibly even better than me, but the idiot didn't have what it takes to be the Hokage. All he cared about was 'protecting the village and its inhabitants'. Running a village involves using your power to crush all oppression! It has nothing to do with protecting your village! That's just a bunch of bull! But he wasn't the only one, that old geezer, the Third Hokage, was the same way! No wonder that Orochimaru had managed to sneak so many shinobi in so easily! I can't imagine what the Fifth Hokage is like."

I had heard about that; apparently, during the Chunin Exams (before my time), Orochimaru had infiltrated the Leaf with both Hidden Sound and Sand ninja, starting a war and killing the Third Hokage. Although, by the way this guy spoke, I could most definitely see why he wasn't chosen. I had no desire to become Hokage, but I knew it was Naruto's dream, from the time he was a little kid, and I only hoped he was chosen over me. I never had the desire to be on top. I was perfectly fine with taking everybody else's orders; it had to be easier than what the Hokage did everyday.

"Do you honestly wonder why you weren't picked?" I asked him.

"What do you know about it, little brat?" he asked angrily.

"I just became a shinobi about ten months ago, so it goes without saying that I don't know a whole lot," I explained to him, "But I do know it takes more than power to run a village, or any kind of government. You _have_ to be kind and caring and compassionate, otherwise the village will eventually fall apart; that's why the Third picked Minato over you, because he had what it took to run the village, unlike you."

"Yes, that Will of Fire you idiots are always raving on about, am I right?" he asked bitterly.

"Uhh, sure," I said, not entirely sure what he was referring to. And then I remembered the brief talk I had with Naruto about it. I still didn't know what it was, but I didn't care; I had to end this, and quickly. "Alright, you ready to get back to the fight?" I asked, preparing myself.

"Yeah, let's do it," Kagona agreed, making some hand signs. I made some hand signs as well, and we both said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

We both blew out fireballs at each other, which met in midair and came to a stalemate. I forced a little more chakra into the jutsu, but so did he; difference being, he forced a little more into it, making the fireballs inch their way down towards me. I decided not to put any more chakra into my jutsu to defend myself, so I cancelled it and jumped out of the way, letting the fireballs smash into the ground where I had been standing and explode, sending burning rubble in every direction. Kagona appeared behind me with a _Dragon Saber_ aimed at my back, which I had little way to dodge. I spun around and aimed my leg at his stomach, but he blocked it with his other arm and thrusted the _Dragon Saber_ at my torso. I managed to catch his wrist so that I wasn't harmed by his jutsu, but he knocked my knee away.

He followed up by landing his own knee in my stomach, making me spit out blood and lose my sense of judgment and ability to counter him. He forced me back with his foot, and I crashed into the ground fifteen feet away while he landed perfectly on his feet, his _Dragon Saber_ still active. I stumbled to a kneeling position, still in too much pain to get to my feet, but I knew I could counter him if and when I needed to.

He charged me with his jutsu, and I said, "_Rasengan!_" I formed the jutsu in my hand and collided it with his _Dragon Saber_, hoping it would easily break through. Unfortunately, I was wrong, and Kagona's _Dragon Saber_ held firm. Unfortunately for him, I still had one last trick up my sleeve. I formed another _Rasengan_ in my other hand and said, "_Dual Rasengan!_" He had no way of blocking this jutsu, so I stepped in and aimed the second _Rasengan_ at his chest, hoping to break his concentration on _Dragon Saber_ and get him with both _Rasengans_. I hit him with the other _Rasengan_, and true to my hopes, his _Dragon Saber_ vanished. I thrusted the other _Rasengan_ at his chest to coincide with the first, but it didn't happen that way.

The first _Rasengan_ detached from my hand, blasting Kagona away, spiraling through the air. Feeling it was better than nothing, I deactivated my second _Rasengan_ and ran towards Kagona to see if he was still alive. He was, but he was also in severe pain. The _Rasengan_ had caused a scorch mark right into his stomach, which he was covering with his hand and coughing up blood. "Don't think you have me beaten yet, brat, I've still got plenty of tricks up my sleeve," he warned me, taking his hand off his stomach and making some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Dragon's Shotgun!_" I saw the jutsu coming just in time and jumped out of the way, letting the tiny fireballs shoot passed. Kagona smiled and made some more hand signs, then said, "_Fire Style Ninja Art: Heat Seeker Jutsu!_" All of the tiny fireballs came around and shot back up at me, every bit as fast as before. I had no way of dodging them this time, so I had no other choice but to take them and hope I survived. They all hit me in the back, catching my shirt on fire and sending me crashing into the ground. I tore my shirt off and threw it aside, wincing from the burns in my back. Kagona charged me with a _Dragon Saber_, but by the time I noticed him, he was about two feet away from me. I was just barely able to jump back from it, but Kagona kept coming.

"_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I formed a single clone in front of me to take Kagona's jutsu, which ran him through, and he disappeared in a puff of smoke. The diversion was enough to give me the time to escape, which I did so into the trees surrounding the area to think of a good counterattack. Kagona was definitely good, however…I wasn't entirely sure if he was Hokage-worthy. Although, he did say he knew a good portion of the _Fire Style_ jutsu in creation, so maybe he was still going easy on me. That was when I flashed back to that one jutsu he used, the _Fire Style: Meteor Shower_. That was definitely a very powerful jutsu, much stronger than anything I knew. I wondered if even Kakashi could have survived that, but I didn't have time to think about it, as Kagona had found me and was now shooting a _Phoenix Flower_ at me.

I jumped down from the tree I was standing in and the _Phoenix Flower_ blasted through it, sending branches raining down on top of me. I landed on the ground and Kagona was charging me with a kunai raised. There weren't any kunai or shuriken around for me to block it with, so I would just have to trust in my dodging skills. I ducked his first slash, then jumped back from the second, and I then jumped back to allow myself time to make some hand signs.

"_Chidori!_" I formed the lightning aura in my hand, and Kagona formed a _Dragon's Saber_. Looking at both of the jutsu at the same time made me realize that the _Dragon's Saber_ was just a _Fire Style_ version of the _Chidori_. We both charged each other with our jutsu, and collided them, blasting a crater into the ground. Fire and lightning shot in every direction, igniting several fallen trees around us. I poured every ounce of my strength into the _Chidori_, and Kagona did the same with his jutsu, making both of the auras around our hands become bigger. Finally, both of our jutsu exploded, sending us both flying back and smashing through trees. I came out about a hundred feet away from where I had been, and was barely conscious.

I woke myself up and prepared to go search for Kagona until I heard something behind me. I looked and saw him diving down on top of me, a _Dragon's Saber_ in his hand. I watched him come down at me, when a flash of lightning met my eyes and Kakashi appeared, a _Lightning Blade_ in Kagona's heart. They both dropped to the ground, Kakashi landing, Kagona crashing, and Kagona had blood all over him.

"You okay?" Kakashi asked me.

"Yeah, I had it covered," I said with a smile, which he chose to ignore.

"Hey!" Both Naruto and Sakura landed next to us, both eyeing Kagona's body.

"Well, well, well!" We all looked around and saw Katsuna standing there, an amused, borderline maniacal grin on his face. "I honestly can't believe you managed to take all four of them down! And even one-on-one at that! Oh well. You won't beat me as easily as you beat them," he assured us as we all prepared for battle.


	68. Chapter 67: Kakashi vs Katsuna

KAKASHI VS KATSUNA

I prepared to charge Katsuna head-on, but Kakashi put his hand out to stop me. "Let me take him," Kakashi advised. "You two are both too worn out to fight him, so let me handle this."

"But…wait a minute!" Naruto said.

"Uh, no," I chimed in. Katsuna seemed somewhat amused by our argument, if not a little impatient.

"So, is this gonna be like that one time in the Hidden Mist?" Naruto asked Kakashi bitterly. I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but it had to be before my time, since we were all involved in that fight with Meizu and Gouzu.

"Look, you may be in the best condition of either of us, but this guy hasn't used up an ounce of chakra!" I reminded him. "The only way we can beat him is if we take him out together!"

He considered both of our statements, but after a moment, he said, "No. I cannot allow that. You're my pupils. I've put you both in enough danger already, and you're gonna need as much strength as you can conserve. Once we beat this guy, we still have Orochimaru and Sasuke to think about, and Orochimaru alone will make the five of them combined look like a joke. I'll take care of this; you guys go look for Sasuke." He looked at us both meaningfully, and only then did I get what he was saying. He had stated that Orochimaru was stronger than Katsuna, Igani, Kagona, Mikuro, and Tsuchigo combined. And he had just told us to run right at him. He wasn't trying to protect us…he was trying to cover us and get us to Sasuke faster.

However… "Kakashi…are you sure you can take this guy on your own?" I asked him.

"Yes, I'll be fine, go on, let me handle this," he said with a note of finality. I still didn't like it, but I finally leaped off in the direction of the hideout, followed by Naruto and Sakura.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "Boy, I hope you're as strong as you led those kids to believe, because while it might take at least _some_ skill to take out Tsuchigo, it'll take a _lot_ more to beat me," Katsuna warned me as he made some hand signs. I waited for him to cast his jutsu, in order to know what his skills were to make a good counter. "_Ninja Art: Blade Limbs Jutsu!_" He held out his arms and a transparent aura surrounded them, that I had to guess turned them into swords. Katsuna disappeared in a burst of speed and turned up right behind me with his arm aimed at my back. I was still impaired from Tsuchigo's _Terra Needles_, which made my reflexes a bit slower than normal.

I just barely managed to jump back out of the way to avoid the full brunt of his attack, but he still managed to tear through my shirt and pierce my stomach slightly. A little bit of blood spattered from the wound onto the ground, and Katsuna charged me again while I was still in the air, not giving me much of a chance to counter him. I didn't have enough chakra to support a _Shadow Clone Jutsu_ _and _all the jutsu I would need to defeat Katsuna, so I would just have to take the hit and hope I got lucky. No, I would have to counter him, which I did so by making some hand signs and saying, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" Katsuna saw the jutsu coming just in time to dodge it, letting the fireball smash into the ground and ignite a burning crater.

Katsuna flew straight up into the air, then dived down on top of me with his jutsu-enhanced arms ready to swing. I grabbed a kunai off the ground and used it to try and counter him, but his arm cleaved right through the kunai, and he thrusted his other arm at my heart. I ducked him and landed my foot in his stomach, forcing him back a few steps, and I quickly got back to my feet and jumped into the air, spun around, and landed my foot in his jaw. He went tumbling across the ground, and I waited for him to get back to his feet, trying to test just how good a swordfighter he really was. My _Sharingan_ wasn't even open, which proved bad for him if he really was giving it everything he had.

He slowly got back to his feet and reactivated his _Blade Limbs Jutsu_, and charged me again. I ducked his stab, but apparently he had been waiting for that, as he retracted his arm and landed his knee in my mouth, making me spit out blood and float into the air. He spun around, his arms flailing, and I was going to be amazed if I got out of this alive. Somehow I did, but by the skin of my teeth. Both of Katsuna's hands tore through my body, sending blood spattering on either side of me, but the wounds weren't deep enough to prove fatal. I stumbled backwards, trying my best to keep my balance, but that became very difficult as the pain grew in my torso.

Katsuna took the opportunity to charge me with his _Blade Limbs_, but the problem for him was that I had enough endurance to breathe through the pain to counter him. I sidestepped him and leaped past him, landing ten feet away in order to get a better vantage point for a counterattack. Katsuna spun around and said, "_Ninja Art: Blade Wave!_" He swung his hand around and fired a wave of the same substance that surrounded his hands during a _Blade Limbs_ _Jutsu_. I jumped out of the way, and the wave flew past, cleaving straight through trees and flying off into the distance. Katsuna jumped up at me with his fist surrounded in the _Blade Limbs_ aura, and I was still in the air, which meant I couldn't dodge.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my fireball down at him, but he made some hand signs and said,

"_Ninja Art: Blade Wave!_" He swung both his arms twice, sending a total of four waves at the fireball, and at me. The waves sliced right through the fireball, making it fall apart right in front of him, and the blades all cut right through me, leaving me in pieces. I became engulfed in a puff of smoke and came out a log, which fell apart even more and dropped to the ground. Katsuna looked aggravated as he dropped down and landed in a tree, where I came at him with a kunai, trying to cut his head off. He saw me coming just in time and jumped out of the way, making me land on the branch he had been standing on and look up at him.

"_Ninja Art: Blade Wave!_" He fired a wave down at me, but I easily dodged it, opening myself up for his true motive. He fired another wave at me while I was still in the air, making me completely unable to dodge it.

"_Lightning Blade!_" I formed the ball of lightning in my hand and held it directly out in front of me to intercept the wave. The _Lightning Blade_ cleaved the _Blade Wave_ in two, making it fly past me and smash into the ground. I landed on the ground and skidded across it while Katsuna landed on the ground and charged me with his _Blade Limbs_. I winced as pain shot through my body from the stab wounds caused by the _Terra Needles_, giving Katsuna the perfect opening to run his arm through my shoulder. Blood spattered several feet behind me, and Katsuna looked nothing short of thrilled, as he knew just as well as I did that he had me.

He wrenched his arm out of my shoulder and let me drop to the ground, wrapping my hand around it to stem the blood flow. "Wh-Why don't you finish me?" I asked him.

His grin got even bigger and he said, "Because, Hatake, I want to watch you suffer!" I saw the look in his eyes, and then it struck me.

"Who are you? Where have I met you before? Why do you want revenge on me?" I asked him. It seemed I was right on the money, as his grin halfway disappeared as he got caught in a trance of memories.

"Your father, the White Fang of the Leaf, tore my family apart when he killed my father, Danbira Huromishe," Katsuna explained to me. My eyes widened at the mentioning of my father. My father, the White Fang of the Leaf, was one of the most famous ninja throughout history. Eventually, he had gone on a mission, the result of which ended in his death. I had always looked up to my father, ever since I was just a toddler, listening closely to every one of the stories he told me. There were too many to sift through, but I did remember a mentioning of a surname Huromishe. As I recalled, he had been a powerful jonin of the Hidden Stone Village, and my father had encountered him on a mission and killed him. It had been a close call, Danbira using essentially the same jutsu as Katsuna.

I pulled myself back to reality, immediately noticing Katsuna's expression, a mix of sadness and rage. "Unfortunately, your father's dead, so I'm going to kill _you _instead, Son of the White Fang!" At this, he sent his arm down on top of me, trying to stab my face. I kicked his leg out from under him, making him stumble and fall to the ground, allowing me to get up and get out of there. I pulled out some bandages and wrapped them around my arm, tying them into place around the wound, hoping that would hold until I could get to Sakura. Katsuna bashed through tree limbs twenty feet in the air and dived down on top of me with his arm raised. I jumped out of the way, and his _Blade Limbs_ brought up a small cloud of dust as it came into contact with the ground, and Katsuna charged me again, trying with all his might to finish me.

I threw my last three shuriken at him, but he sent a _Blade Wave_ at them and chopped them all in half. He kept on coming, meaning I had about a second and a half to figure out a counterattack. The _Blade Limbs_ aura covered the entirety of his forearm, making it impossible to catch him, and I also didn't have enough time to make very many hand signs. However, there was one move I could make. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" All in the blink of an eye, I conjured a single _Shadow Clone_, which grabbed my arm and threw me out of the way, taking the hit for me. I landed on my back, but almost immediately got back to my feet, and Katsuna charged me with his arm raised. I prepared to counter him from that direction, but he spun around to give leverage to his other hand, which he sent down at my waist, countering the duck I was about to make.

I just barely jumped out of the way in time, only taking a hit to the foot, which actually probably almost cut it off. I knew I wasn't going to be able to walk on it for very long, which meant I had to finish this literally in this next move. I focused my chakra into my left eye, preparing to use my most powerful and most dangerous jutsu. Katsuna charged me, although about five more minutes would have been a preferable charging time. As it was, I could make it just big enough to remove a limb. I focused the last of my chakra into my _Sharingan_, and I could feel it transform, turning from the comma-like Tomoe Seal into something more like a pinwheel, with three curved points coming out, then coming back and coming to a point near the pupil.

"_Kamui!_" A dimensional rift opened up right at Katsuna's heart chamber, making his expression go blank and blood trickle out of his mouth. I landed on the ground and then instantly jumped back up, allowing Katsuna to fall to the ground, tumbling across it. When he came to a stop, I landed next to him to check if he was alive, but it appeared he wasn't. I didn't want to take any chances, although I didn't have enough chakra for a _Lightning Blade_, so that left me with one of his kunai that I pulled out of his holster. I slit his throat with it, but the blood loss was much less than what it would normally be, confirming that he had already been dead. Now that this was finally over, it was time to move on to the real battle.


	69. Chapter 68: The Beast Within

My original plan was to wait to do this until the average traffic stats for NC throughout its running time reached 1,000 hits. However, looking at the stats from the past few months, I'd say we're close enough. The official twitter for Naruto Chronicles is up NChronicles. Here I will be announcing when chapters have been posted, along with my own thoughts as I write the series.

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THE BEAST WITHIN

[Matt's point-of-view] Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura and I all stood outside the doorway underground, preparing to go in and find Orochimaru, who had long since retreated back inside and repaired the damage with a jutsu. I had grabbed a new shirt from my bag beforehand, so I didn't feel so exposed. As if he had been waiting for us the whole time, the ground burst apart and another huge snake rose up out of the dust, Orochimaru and his final associate on its head, looking down at us with skeptic expressions. I noticed Naruto beside me, literally shaking in anger at the sight of the man who had, as he called it, 'taken his best friend'. The way I had heard it, Sasuke had left the village of his own free will, pursuing power in the form of Orochimaru.

[Naruto's point-of-view] It was all I could do to keep from charging Orochimaru right now. I flashed back to the day Sasuke had left the village, and his words to me; _I have a new path now, and not you, nor anyone can steer me from it._ The more I thought about it, the angrier and angrier I got, until finally, I felt something stirring inside of me…

[Matt's point-of-view] An explosion of red chakra nearly blew me off my feet, and I instantly knew where it had come from. Naruto was completely engulfed in an aura of red chakra, and I knew if this pursued, Orochimaru would be in trouble. Sakura's eyes were wide in shock as she watched her teammate change, while Kakashi had a nonchalant reaction. I looked up at Orochimaru and his associate, whose name I didn't know, and saw that both of them looked amused by Naruto's anger.

"Why don't you let me have the first crack at them, my Lord," the associate said, preparing to bound off the giant snake. All I could think was I hoped Orochimaru wouldn't sick that snake on us, since it was bigger than a house.

"Hold on, Kabuto," I heard Orochimaru say. "Let the boy get all his anger out. If he comes at you with that power, you will never survive." Kabuto didn't even look like he wanted to argue, as he relaxed and let events take their course. After a minute or so, Naruto's chakra changed, becoming more solid, and confirming my suspicions. He grew fox ears and a tail, both made entirely out of chakra, to go with Naruto's red eyes with slits in the center. I figured he was going to charge, but I was wrong, as he just stood there, and I wondered what was about to happen next. After another forty-five seconds, a second chakra-tail grew right next to the first, which surprised even me.

Orochimaru only grew even more amused, and I had to appreciate his confidence; if someone were looking at me with red eyes and fangs, along with the power of an inner-demon, I think I'd be running. Everyone remained where they were, watching Naruto closely, and after another minute, it happened again. A third tail grew into place, and Naruto started growling, but this wasn't a comedic growl that people do to amuse others; this was a genuine beast-like growl that sent chills throughout my body. I started to become scared, and my worst suspicions were confirmed; a fourth tail. At this, Naruto began to transform, his flesh literally peeling off his face. I wanted to vomit as I watched this horrific scene, but I couldn't bare to take my eyes away.

His eyes slowly faded into entirely red, and as more of his flesh peeled off, a red and black underside was revealed, flashing almost like fire. I also noticed drips of blood coming off with the flesh, but like the flesh, all of Naruto's chakra sent it floating slowly up into the air. As the last of the flesh tore away, he was completely red and black, flashing like fire, and his tails and ears were no exception. His eyes were pure white, almost like flashlights, but they only added to Naruto's scary appearance. Once the transformation was finally complete, Naruto uttered an earth-shattering roar that could literally be heard several miles away, and whose force brought up tiny pebbles off the ground. Sakura and I had been blown off our feet, while Kakashi managed to keep his balance, although I realized he was just as shocked as Sakura and I.

I looked back up at Orochimaru and Kabuto, and Orochimaru said, "Let me handle him." He jumped off the snake, barreling straight down to the ground, and when he landed, the chakra he used to keep himself from splattering punched a crater into the ground, making him just as frightening as Naruto. "Get out of here!" Kakashi ordered, and we didn't need to be told twice as the three of us went over and landed on some tree branches, keeping Naruto and Orochimaru in full view. Orochimaru bent straight down onto the ground and opened his mouth, letting out a horde of about two-hundred pythons, which all slithered disgustingly towards Naruto.

As I watched them, they all opened their mouths, and something long and shiny grew out of them. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were swords; they were trying to subdue a single person with enough swords to take out the entire Hidden Leaf. Naruto seemed undeterred as he raised his arm up, and slammed it back to the ground. An enormous explosion rose up from Naruto's hand a hundred feet in the air, obliterating all of the snakes and leaving Naruto completely unharmed. I watched with my jaw open, unbelieving of his ability to make such an attack with a single swipe of his hand. The smoke from the explosion cleared, and Naruto and Orochimaru were both in the exact same positions before hand, not having moved a muscle.

Orochimaru looked down at the ground in front of him and smiled, clearly amused by something. Just by experience of fighting Naruto, I had a pretty good idea what it was. Orochimaru jumped back and the ground exploded as Naruto's hand, enlarged to the size of a car, came up, trying to grab at Orochimaru. Orochimaru was obviously a lot better than Naruto thought he was, as he landed on the ground and ran out of the way of Naruto's hand like it was nothing. Finally, Naruto retracted his hand, deciding instead to charge Orochimaru head-on. When he charged, he charged so quickly it caused an explosion of dust where he had been standing, and he tore across the ground at Orochimaru at the speed of light. Naruto brought his clawed hand around and swung it at Orochimaru, cleaving him cleanly in half and sending both halves tumbling across the ground.

_That didn't take long,_ I thought to myself, as I prepared to go and enter the base to search for Sasuke. As I watched, however, something crawled out of the bottom of Orochimaru's upper half, and after a second, I realized it was a paper-white hand. I watched in horror as a new Orochimaru crawled out of the old one, almost like a snake shedding its skin. He waited for Naruto to come at him, which Naruto wasted no time in doing, his claw once again raised. Orochimaru ducked out of the way, then jumped away as Naruto landed on the ground and turned around to keep Orochimaru in view. Orochimaru looked straight up into the air and opened his mouth, reaching his hand into it. He pulled something out of it, but I realized that what he pulled out was much too big for the human mouth to carry.

Apparently Orochimaru had forgotten, as he pulled out a three-foot-long sword, which he pointed at Naruto with an evil smile. Naruto paid no attention to the sword, charging Orochimaru with all his strength, trying to eradicate him completely. Orochimaru swung the sword and met it with Naruto's claw, causing a shockwave that blew a crater into the ground. I was really surprised that Orochimaru's sword hadn't been completely obliterated, but then again, if the stories I heard about him were true, maybe that wasn't so surprising. As Naruto and Orochimaru stood there, one trying to outdo the other, all four of Naruto's tails shot at Orochimaru, all of them running him through.

Orochimaru spat out another clone of himself while Naruto pulled his tails out, ripping the original body into pieces. Orochimaru slithered across the ground like a snake, his legs converted into a single snake tail, which I had to say was quite appropriate given his other jutsu, and held out his arm towards Naruto. Three snakes stretched out from inside the sleeve, never-ending, like Naruto's arm, and they all bit Naruto in different parts of his body. The moment the snakes touched Naruto, their heads ignited into flame and very quickly burned away towards Orochimaru, who detached them from his arm and let them incinerate. Naruto charged Orochimaru with his arm raised, but Orochimaru blocked it with his sword, causing another shockwave.

Orochimaru poured all of his strength into his sword and pushed Naruto's arm up over them both, and Orochimaru dipped in and swiped at Naruto, running his sword through his stomach. Not even a scratch formed in Naruto's stomach, but he did seem much angrier as he swiped his arm, causing a huge gust of wind stronger than a tornado that even Orochimaru couldn't withstand, and was sent flying back and smashing into trees. About a second later, Orochimaru shot out of the pile of fallen trees, Naruto's arm chasing him. Before the hand even grabbed Orochimaru, a huge wart grew on it, and it grew bigger and bigger until it took the form of Naruto, clawed hands and all, one of which he swiped at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru was cut right in two, but just like last time, another Orochimaru shot out of the bottom of the top half, completely unharmed. The second Naruto completely formed and detached from the arm, which eroded and disappeared, along with the first Naruto. Orochimaru slithered across the ground while Naruto bounded after him on all fours, however Orochimaru was too fast for him. Orochimaru made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Tornado Bomb!_" He spat a ball of compressed wind at Naruto, who didn't even blink as it hit him, but did all the damage of a mosquito. Orochimaru kept on going, but Naruto kicked it into high-gear, disappearing completely with speed, and appeared right above Orochimaru, with his arm slamming Orochimaru into the ground, smashing a crater into it.

Orochimaru shed his skin once more, coming out completely unharmed, and Naruto got even angrier. Finally, he straightened up onto two legs, his tails flailing around behind him, his face pointed straight up into the air and his mouth open. About fifty chakra bubbles, some blue, some fiery-red like Naruto, shot straight out of his body and floated around him. They all slowly floated up and converged right above Naruto's mouth, forming a ball a foot in diameter that was shining white with a dark-red outline. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Naruto was about to do with it, but was he giving any consideration to his comrades currently not twenty feet away from him, or had he lost all reasoning skills and was going to fire it anyway?


	70. Chapter 69: Naruto's True Power

I'm gonna go ahead and say that Sunday is the new day to expect chapters.

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NARUTO'S TRUE POWER

"Oh, that's gonna hurt!" I said in horror as I watched Naruto hold up his ball of chakra proudly.

"Let's go!" Kakashi said, he and Sakura leaping in the other direction. I quickly followed them, hoping that this thing would at least keep from blowing the whole forest to oblivion.

[_Third-person point of view_] Naruto rose his head up and swallowed his ball of compacted chakra, then looked at Orochimaru and opened. His mouth was forced open wide enough to swallow a human whole by the blast, which fired right at Orochimaru. Orochimaru smiled and bit his finger, then made some hand signs and said,

"_Summoning Jutsu: Triple Rashomon!_" A massive puff of smoke appeared, and out of it rose three colossal gates, a hundred feet tall and forty feet wide. Each rose up one in front of the other, in order to best defend against Naruto's attack. A split second after the gates rose up, Naruto's attack hit them, and engulfed a two-hundred foot area in an explosion.

[_Matt's point of view_] A massive explosion rose up above the trees, the shockwave of which blew trees all around us to the ground and sent dust flying past. We had a much longer drop than we had all intended, so Kakashi grabbed Sakura and cushioned her fall with his body, while I spun around and landed on my back, tumbling across the ground and smashing through a fallen tree. "Ouch," I said as I walked out of the pile of trees, rubbing my head. Kakashi and Sakura were both already running back towards Naruto, however, it seemed Kakashi was chasing Sakura.

I immediately ran after them, wondering if Naruto was still alive. About five minutes later, we came to the scene of the battle, which was now a massive crater with a hole towards the side, which was the entrance to Orochimaru's hideout. Both Naruto and Orochimaru were nowhere to be seen, which meant they had probably moved on to a new location. Surrounding the crater were the edges of the forest, and in the distance, you could see a village, although which one it was, I wasn't entirely sure. I looked all around for some sign of either Naruto or Orochimaru, and after about a minute or two of seeing nothing, another, smaller explosion rose up above the remaining trees.

I immediately headed in that direction, quickly followed by Kakashi and Sakura. I came to the edge of the clearing caused by the explosion and saw both Naruto and Orochimaru there, standing fifty feet away from each other. Naruto was growling at Orochimaru, who was just standing there with a wicked grin on his face, waiting for Naruto to come. Naruto charged at the speed of light, but Orochimaru was still too quick, and Naruto flew by and crashed into a boulder, completely destroying it. Orochimaru stretched his arm out at Naruto, and it stretched far beyond its length, like a projectile. Naruto jumped out of the way, but Orochimaru's hand came up at him again, and wrapped around Naruto's throat. Naruto didn't miss a beat in countering, swiping his hand through Orochimaru's arm, severing it off completely.

Naruto flew through the air and landed at the edge of the forest while Orochimaru dealt with his severed arm, using his chakra to make it rip off entirely and fall to the ground. The moment his arm left its socket, a new one grew into place, just as it had been before the incident. Naruto held out his hand, and I instantly knew what he was about to do. A ball of white chakra formed in his hand, which ended the course of my predictions for what was about to happen. He brought his arm back, then dragged it across the ground, the chakra erupting into a huge wave that shot across the ground at Orochimaru. Orochimaru jumped out of the way, but when the wave hit the point where he had been standing, it exploded, sending dozens of smaller waves in every direction.

Orochimaru had no way of dodging, so he took the hit head-on, the wave severing him cleanly in two. The process started all over again, as another Orochimaru shot out of the original, his sword in his hand. Naruto fired a tiny ball of chakra out of his mouth at Orochimaru, who blocked it with his sword. Upon contact with the blade, the ball exploded, a much bigger explosion than what would be expected of the marble-sized ball, and it blasted Orochimaru at the ground. Orochimaru hit and brought up a huge dust cloud, which rose high above the trees. Naruto fired three more tiny blasts at Orochimaru, which seemed miniscule on their own compared to all three, which when hit, caused an air-shattering explosion that blasted a deep crater into the ground.

When the smoke and dust cleared, Orochimaru's corpse was laying there, completely torn apart by the explosions, but I would have been amazed if this was the end of the fight. As I had expected, a hand crawled out of the corpse's mouth, followed by a second hand, and finally, a completely unharmed Orochimaru slithered out, looking more amused than ever.

"This child," I heard him say, "is truly incredible!" Seeing that Orochimaru still wasn't dead, Naruto conjured up five chakra bubbles from his body, which converted into a blast about the size of a human palm. Naruto fired the blast at Orochimaru, and the recoil blasted a crater into the ground, confirming its unimaginable power. The blast flew at Orochimaru, who watched it come without doing a thing about it. The blast hit and caused an explosion the size of a sports arena, bringing up dust and leaving a few small patches of trees left standing. The smoke and dust cleared about a minute later to reveal nothing, however I doubted Orochimaru had been obliterated.

After about ten seconds, something popped up out of the ground right under Naruto, coming up and piercing him in the chest. As I looked closer, I realized it was the tip of a sword, elongated with chakra. The sword grew even longer out of the ground, bringing Naruto up into the air, coming out at about a hundred feet. Orochimaru's head popped up out of the ground, but the rest of his body remained in the ground as his neck stretched out to a hundred feet in the air. He brought Naruto down with his sword and smashed him into the ground, bringing up a huge cloud of dust. I instantly got closer to where Naruto had landed, but didn't get too close as I doubted he still had his conscience about him.

Sakura and Kakashi landed a few feet behind me, and I waited for the dust to clear to see if Naruto was still alive. When the dust cleared, he was sitting there, his tails flailing around, his vocals uttering soft, but still spine-shivering growls. As I looked at the sword, I saw that it had in fact not even pierced Naruto's skin, but was instead just pushing him. After a few seconds of just sitting there, Naruto knocked the sword away with all his strength, sending it right at me, and making me almost load my pants. I just barely got out of the way in time and it flew passed, making Kakashi grab Sakura and dive out of the way as well. The sword swung through the air, Orochimaru trying to control it until he finally retracted it back into his mouth. His neck receded back down to the ground, and when it landed, the rest of Orochimaru's body burst out of the ground, and he got slowly to his feet and looked over at Naruto, who was still in the same position.

I considered helping Naruto with this guy, but then I looked at Naruto, and noticed him looking at me like he was about to kill me. "Uhm," I said nervously, hoping I was taking his angry looking eyes and demonic growls the wrong way. Nope. Naruto shot a chakra-arm at me that I just barely managed to jump out of the way of, and Naruto quickly followed. I ducked his swipe and dived back down to the ground, then jumped out of the way as Naruto smashed into it, his chakra punching a crater into the ground. "Come on, Naruto, I'm your friend!" I yelled as I retreated. Naruto didn't appear to be listening as he charged me again, his claw raised.

"Well, I guess if it's you or me…_Rasengan!_" I landed my jutsu right into Naruto's stomach, sending him spiraling back about twenty feet. Normally, anyone hit with that jutsu would have been sent flying fifty feet or more, but I had to guess the influence of the Nine-Tails now consuming Naruto was negating the brunt of my jutsu. Naruto didn't seem remotely pleased about me attacking him, in fact, he just seemed to get even angrier. I really hoped he didn't grow a fifth tail, but luckily, I was saved to fight another day as a bunch of compressed balls of wind flew down and smashed into Naruto, shrouding him in dust. I took the time to get out of there as fast as I could, and watched Orochimaru land fifty feet away, pointing his sword at Naruto.

Naruto fired a tiny blast at him, but Orochimaru sidestepped it and charged Naruto head-on. Before Orochimaru even got to Naruto, the ground erupted at his feet and a huge chakra-arm came out, grabbing Orochimaru by the waist and lifting him into the air. The rest of the arm came out, and Naruto hauled Orochimaru back behind him, then threw him with all his strength, sending him flying three football fields away. I saw the dust rise up as he bounced off the ground in fifty-foot spans, coming out completely out of sight. I didn't dare approach Naruto again, I was always one to learn from my mistakes.

Naruto didn't wait to see if Orochimaru was alive or not, and instead conjured about twenty chakra bubbles, going for the full blast. The chakra bubbles converged right above Naruto into a ball about a foot in diameter, and Naruto swallowed it, aimed at Orochimaru, and let loose. The huge wave fired off into the distance, although the explosion was clearly visible on the horizon, the shockwave tearing the ground all the way back to and passed us. This time, we managed to keep on our feet, but just barely. Naruto paid no attention to us and bounded off towards Orochimaru, probably going to make sure he was dead, and if not, he was going to kill him. I followed him, but I had to use my full speed, which only Kakashi could keep up with, leaving Sakura to catch up later.

I came to a river at the foot of a set of tiny mountains, on the other side of which stood Naruto and Orochimaru, Orochimaru completely unharmed. Kakashi appeared next to me, watching the battle as well, and we both kept hidden behind boulders in order to avoid detection. A few seconds later, Sakura caught up to us and peeked over the boulder as well, paying more attention to Naruto than Orochimaru. "What a fight, eh?" We all looked over and saw Kabuto casually making his way to us.


	71. Chapter 70: Two Demons

Five more chapters until the Season Three Finale, however, there will be no chapter next week.

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TWO DEMONS

"I suggest you get out of here before you get hurt," I said to Kabuto, who looked really scared (sarcasm).

"I didn't come here to fight, I just came to watch, like you guys," he told us, but the smug smile really didn't help his story. "Although, you have to admit, this is quite the interesting fight, wouldn't you say?" Kabuto said, turning his attention to Naruto and Orochimaru. "But this isn't a fight between shinobi," he went on, "This is more like a fight between demons."

I had been thinking the exact same thing. Both Naruto and Orochimaru had shown incomparable power in this fight, power that outmatched anything I had ever seen in my short ten months of shinobi-hood. Of course, this wasn't saying much, having been only ten months, but still, the truth remained the truth. I doubted even Hatsuji Korero could compare to the likes of these two.

"Although," Kabuto continued, "I wonder…you think Naruto still has any inclination of retrieving Sasuke? In that state, how could he? It's obvious he's lost all consciousness; his only thought is of eradicating Lord Orochimaru, and anyone who gets in his way, friend or foe." As much as I hated to admit it, he had hit the nail right on the head with everything he just said. "Even if it is a stupid ambition."

I had to resist the temptation to punch him with this as I looked at him, silently warning him to shut up.

"I mean, come on, Sasuke went to Lord Orochimaru of his own free will. He will never go back to the Leaf, and nothing any of you Leaf brats say can do a thing about it. And yet, Naruto still tries with all his might. He's just a stupid kid who doesn't know a thing!"

I didn't even register what happened, but after a moment, I realized Sakura had charged him and landed her fist in his face, smashing him into the ground. She was breathing heavily in anger, and I could tell she wanted to destroy Kabuto with all her might. "If you say…_anything_ else…I swear I'll kill you!" she breathed.

Kabuto got to his feet and wiped blood from his lips, and judging by the look in his eyes, he had just accomplished what he had been planning.

"Easy, Sakura, he's just trying to antagonize you! Don't listen to him, focus on Naruto," I told her. "Matt…shut up!" I had seen that coming a mile away. "Step back, I'm going to finish this guy once and for all," she said in a deadly voice. I could tell nothing anyone said could deter her from this, so I stepped back, and met Kakashi, who whispered into my ear.

My eyes widened at what he said, and I whispered back, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," he answered.

[Kakashi's point of view] I watched Sakura and Kabuto stare off at each other, Kabuto smiling, Sakura in a blind rage. I looked over at Naruto and Orochimaru and saw that they were getting ready to go at each other. I glimpsed out of the corner of my eye, Kabuto jumping away from Sakura, who quickly followed him. Naruto fired a chakra-arm at Orochimaru, who parried it with his sword and knocked it away. Naruto retracted his arm and Orochimaru charged him head-on with his sword raised. Naruto slammed his hand onto the ground, causing a wave of chakra to explode on it and travel towards Orochimaru. Orochimaru jumped out of the way like it was nothing, and the wave moved by and exploded against a pile of fallen trees. While Orochimaru was still in the air, Naruto appeared right above him with his hand raised, and he slammed it into Orochimaru, sending him flying down and smashing into the ground.

By the time the dust cleared, Orochimaru had already shed his skin, and he was looking up at Naruto, waiting for him to dive down on top of him. Naruto fired three tiny blasts down at Orochimaru, causing another air-shattering explosion that blasted a crater into the ground. The smoke rose up above Naruto as he fell down into it, and I cursed the smoke, as I now had no idea what was going on in there. When the smoke finally cleared, my eyes widened and my mouth fell slightly ajar as I saw what had happened under the cover of the smoke. Orochimaru had run his sword cleanly through Naruto's stomach. I didn't know how this could have happened, since the Nine-Tails' power had done so well at countering the sword the first time. The answer became clear as Naruto turned into red chakra and dispersed, leaving nothing but Orochimaru's sword.

Orochimaru jumped into the air as the ground burst apart where he had been standing, and both of Naruto's arms stretched up out of it at Orochimaru. Orochimaru used his sword to parry both of Naruto's arms, once each, until the arms came down and slammed into the ground, and Naruto used them like a catapult to spring himself up out of the ground at Orochimaru. Naruto raised his claw at Orochimaru, but he made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!_" A huge burst of wind emanated from Orochimaru's body, strong enough, amazingly, to blow Naruto off course and overshoot him from Orochimaru.

Naruto bent upside down, facing Orochimaru, and fired a single tiny blast at him that hit and exploded, sending Orochimaru flying down and smashing into the ground. When the dust cleared, Orochimaru was just laying there, a bloody corpse, but judging by the fact that the mouth was opened wide enough for a human to crawl inside of, he had already shed his skin. I looked over and saw Naruto struggling with something, and I realized that giant pythons had crawled up out of the ground and were now wrapping themselves around him.

Finally, Naruto let out a huge roar, and an even bigger burst of chakra that incinerated the pythons instantly. Something else popped up out of the ground, but it wasn't a snake. It was the blade of Orochimaru's sword, closely followed by Orochimaru. Naruto let out another burst of chakra, but this one was even bigger as it blasted a crater into the ground and sent Orochimaru flying. Before he had even stopped tumbling, Orochimaru shed his skin, and was once more completely unharmed. Naruto then conjured up six chakra bubbles, and they all converged in his mouth, but instead of firing one huge blast, he fired three smaller blasts, which were still perfectly capable of blowing apart the Empire State Building.

Even Orochimaru wasn't quick enough to dodge these, as he put his sword out in front of him to defend himself, and the blasts hit all around him, each exploding with the force of several boxes of C4. I waited for Orochimaru to come out of the smoke charging, but he didn't. He didn't do anything, or a least anything visible, so I assumed he had already shed his skin and was preparing to attack. When the smoke and dust cleared, I was surprised to see that Orochimaru was still a bloody mess, panting in exhaustion. And then it struck me. This type of skin-shedding jutsu must have consumed an enormous amount of chakra, and he had now used it so many times, he couldn't support it anymore.

Seeing this weakness, Naruto immediately bounded in, ready to rip Orochimaru to shreds. Orochimaru made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Tornado Bombs!_" He spat half a dozen compressed balls of wind at Naruto, but they didn't even begin to slow him down, as he kept on charging at the speed of a bullet. Orochimaru jumped out of the way, but Naruto leaped up after him, his claws raised at Orochimaru, but Orochimaru raised his sword to counter him. He managed to parry both of Naruto's swipes with his claws, and he then kicked Naruto in the chin, sending him down and smashing into the ground.

Orochimaru dropped down and landed on top of Naruto, his chakra causing a shockwave that cracked the ground around them. Orochimaru jumped up before Naruto could get at him, and landed twenty feet away, waiting for Naruto to get back up and attack. As I looked more closely at him, I realized he was no longer panting, he had the same amused smile he had had the entire fight before getting blasted. He still had all of his injuries from the blast, but those appeared to be minor nuisances as Orochimaru was enjoying himself to the fullest. Naruto slowly got back to his fours, but instead of charging Orochimaru head-on, he seemed to hesitate, as if he had registered the fact that Orochimaru was no longer playing around. Naruto fired a chakra-arm at Orochimaru, but he put his sword out in front of him and blocked it effortlessly.

Naruto retracted his arm and bounded at Orochimaru, and Orochimaru didn't seem remotely fazed. At the last twenty feet, Naruto leaped at Orochimaru, but instead of trying to defend himself, Orochimaru jumped out of the way, letting Naruto land where he had been standing, and then skid across the ground. Naruto's gaze followed Orochimaru through the air, and just when he started to drop, Naruto fired several tiny blasts at him. This time, the blasts homed in on Orochimaru, making things extremely difficult for him, and giving the fact that he no longer had sufficient enough chakra to support a skin-shed, he was in trouble.

While still in the air, Orochimaru made some hand signs, and fired a _Tornado Bomb_ at each of the blasts. All of the _Tornado Bombs_ hit the blasts and detonated them, and the combined explosion from all five literally took the breath out of me, and the shockwave almost blew me off my feet. I didn't know how Orochimaru could have possibly survived that, since it had blown a crater big enough to be seen from space, but I wouldn't have put it passed him to find a way out of it. Naruto, however, had taken the explosion head-on, but being influenced by the Nine-Tails' power, he came out of it completely unharmed. He landed on the ground and looked around, rather it was for Orochimaru specifically or for just anyone to kill, I didn't know, but I ducked lower behind the boulder I was hiding behind so he wouldn't see me.

After a few seconds, the both of us concluded that Orochimaru had either retreated or been eradicated, myself really hoping it was the latter, but not holding my breath. But then, something popped up out of the ground, and I realized it was Orochimaru's arm, enhanced with chakra to make it stretch much further than its original length. It wrapped all the way around Naruto, who tried to struggle free, but couldn't, until Orochimaru, still underground, pulled him down and pinned him to the ground. Then, the arm started to change, until it was a python the exact same length as Orochimaru's arm. The real Orochimaru popped up out of the ground twenty feet away, watching Naruto with an amused smile.

Naruto let off a burst of chakra that incinerated the snake and prepared to charge Orochimaru again, but Orochimaru seemed to not be in the mood for it. "Well, I must say, you're still no match for Sasuke," Orochimaru said, which I was glad Naruto couldn't understand. "We'll meet again," Orochimaru said to Naruto, and he then took a quick glance in my direction and morphed into several snakes that slithered away. The moment he was gone, Naruto made one final, earth-shaking roar, and began to glow with red light. When the light faded, I said, "I need to get to Sakura."

[Sakura's point of view] Kabuto and I exchanged fists in midair, and we both landed twenty feet away from each other, myself breathing heavily from anger. "Just you wait, I'll pound your backstabbing face into the dirt!"


	72. Chapter 71: The Snake's Apprentice

Four more chapters until the Season Finale.

* * *

THE SNAKE'S APPRENTICE

Kabuto and I exchanged fists in midair, and we both landed twenty feet away from each other, myself breathing heavily from anger. "Just you wait, I'll pound your backstabbing face into the dirt!"

Kabuto had once posed as a genin in the Hidden Leaf, and befriended Naruto and I, helping us through the Chunin Exams during our first attempt. Then, he turned out to be a spy for Orochimaru, betraying us all and nearly killing Naruto. My soul goal was and always has been to retrieve Sasuke, but if I ever got around to it, I really wanted to splatter Kabuto's guts all over the ground. Now that I had the chance to do both, I wasn't going to pass it up. Plus, Kakashi had smothered me from taking on one of Orochimaru's associates earlier, so this was finally my chance to prove that I was part of the team, and take down this guy, who had been such a pain to us in the past, once and for all.

I raised my fist and poured my chakra into it, engulfing it in a blue aura, and Kabuto made some hand signs and held out both of his hands. They both became engulfed in chakra-auras, but unlike mine, which was like fire, his auras straight, almost like swords. I didn't know what he could do; I had never fought him before, but anyone who could come close to killing Naruto had to be good.

"You ready?" Kabuto said with a smug smile on his face.

"Let's go," I said angrily, and I immediately charged. Kabuto became even more smug as he waited for me to charge, and when I did, he swiped. I had enough sense to not let that hit me, and instead ducked it, and then thrusted my fist at his stomach. He jumped back just in time, and I immediately followed him, my fist still raised. He hit the ground and charged me, but instead of coming head-on, he came to the side of me, and touched my thigh, making it instantly erupt into pain. It hurt so badly I couldn't bare to land on it, so I just fell to the ground, my face in the dirt. I rolled over and looked at Kabuto, and saw that he seemed very pleased with himself. "What did you do to me?" I asked him bitterly, thinking he had broken my leg.

"You're a medical ninja, aren't you? You really don't recognize these symptoms?" he asked with a smug smile.

And that was when I realized it; "Wait, are you saying you're using a _Chakra Scalpel_? So you're a medical ninja too?" I asked him in shock.

"Exactly," Kabuto answered. "My father in the Leaf was the head of the Medical Core; he taught me everything I know."

"Great," I said, thinking my chances of winning had just gotten a lot dimmer. He had used a medical ninjutsu called a _Chakra Scalpel_, which, as the name suggests, turns your hand into a scalpel, severing my thigh muscle.

"Well, too bad for you, I'm a medical ninja too, remember?" I reminded him, as I put my hand to my thigh. My hand became engulfed in an aura of green chakra, and the cut to my thigh muscle started to heal. I expected Kabuto to try and stop me, but he just stood there, waiting for me to finish. When I was done, I stood up and waited for him to come.

"Good, but just so you know, that was only a demonstration of my powers; I won't just sit back and let you heal yourself any longer," he warned me as he reactivated his _Chakra Scalpels_ and waited for me to charge. I bent down and slammed my fist into the ground, sending a shockwave through it that severely destroyed the ground, causing Kabuto to jump out of the way. "Okay, I heard you were training under Lady Tsunade, you obviously have her chakra-enhanced strength down," Kabuto said to me as he flew through the air. I charged him as he fell, preparing to meet him when he hit the ground, but he was too quick for me as he grabbed both my wrists, severing the muscles with his _Chakra Scalpels_, and then landing his foot in my face, sending me flying back and rolling across the ground. I was gasping in pain at my severed muscles, knowing I would never have enough time to heal them.

"Just so you know," Kabuto said to me, "That's twice I've killed you now. You see, if I had wanted to, I could have severed the arteries in your wrists instead of the muscles, just like I could have finished you off while you were healing yourself. And then, of course, instead of bragging, I could have finished you off right now. So technically, that's three times I've killed you."

"Oh, shove it!" I told him, mainly because I couldn't disregard the fact that he was absolutely right. "I don't need your mercy, so why don't you just come at me with all you've got?" I said to him, getting back to my feet and holding up my fists.

"Good, I was hoping you'd use the time to heal yourself," Kabuto said to me.

I growled in frustration; he had gotten me several times now, and he was still just going easy on me. Was I really that weak? Was I really not even strong enough to pose a threat to Orochimaru's little lackey? Of course I was; it had always been this way; ever since we first became Team 7, which was the official name for our squad, I was always being saved by Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke. I had played no part in the mission to retrieve Sasuke, instead just crying and begging Naruto to bring him back for me. I had never been a help to my team, always a nuisance, why would now be any different? Kabuto seemed to know what I was thinking, because his smile broadened, which made me want to pulverize him all the more.

I charged him, which I had to admit was a little reckless considering his power over me, but at the time, I really didn't care. Kabuto waited for me to come, his _Chakra Scalpels_ ready to intercept. I stopped right in front of him and punched the ground once more, creating a shockwave that blasted him into the air, making way for me to attack unopposed. I jumped at him and landed my fist in his stomach, making him spit out blood and go flying back, then tumbling across the ground. When the dust from the impact cleared, Kabuto was on his feet, and he had already healed himself, as he lowered his hand from the point where I had hit him. "Now you know I can defend myself as well," I told him, waiting for him to come.

[Kabuto Yakushi's point-of-view] _Well this is interesting. I need to watch it getting close to her, otherwise one shot and that could be it._

[Sakura's point-of-view] I could tell he knew he was in trouble. If he even got close to me, he was in a lot of danger. I just hoped he didn't know any projectile-type jutsu, otherwise I was the one in trouble. Kabuto charged me with his _Chakra Scalpel_, but before he could get to me, I slammed my fist onto the ground, causing a shockwave that tore it up. Just before the shockwave hit him, Kabuto leaped clear over me, landing behind me and swiping his hand at my back. I managed to jump out of the way just in time to avoid him hitting any muscles, but he managed to cut my flesh, although that wasn't very much for me to take. I landed on the ground and charged Kabuto again, but he ducked my fist and thrusted his _Chakra Scalpel_ at my gut. In the blink of an eye, I pulled out a kunai and met his hand with it, just barely keeping him from touching me.

The chakra from his _Chakra Scalpel_ kept me from cutting his hand, but that was okay, as I thrusted my fist at his face. He jumped back and skidded across the ground, but hesitated to charge me again. I charged him again, and Kabuto threw some needles at me (otherwise known as 'senbon'), but I jumped out of the way and threw some shuriken down at him. He jumped out of the way and landed ten feet away, and when I landed, I charged him head-on, making him prepare himself for my assault. I stopped short of him and slammed my fist onto the ground again, making him jump out of the way of the resulting shockwave. I grabbed a palm-sized rock out of the air, and while Kabuto was still in the air, I threw it at him, hoping to knock him out.

Kabuto pulled out a kunai with a curved blade and somehow managed to block the rock, knocking it out of the air, but also disarming him. I was hoping that when he landed, he would charge me, but he seemed to know better, as he waited for me to charge instead. Apparently he didn't know any long-range jutsu, which thrilled me in realizing that I was the worst opponent for him. He had absolutely no chance of beating me, which was a fact that he seemed to realize as well. I smiled happily, knowing that I was finally going to take care of him, and charged him with my fist raised, ready to pound his face into his skull. Kabuto focused his chakra into his _Scalpels_, making the blades lengthen to about a foot and a half out from his hands, which probably didn't bode too well for me.

Oh well. I could just send a shockwave at him that would break both his legs, and that would take care of that. The problem being, I just had to get the timing right in order to make the shockwave effective, otherwise it was completely pointless. Kabuto charged me with his refined _Chakra Scalpels_, and I figured I was probably going to have a little more challenging to dodge this time around. I ducked his first swipe, but before I could get in to hit him, he sent his other _Scalpel_ right down on top of me. I jumped back out of the way and charged him with my fist raised, making him raise his arms to prepare himself. I managed to duck his first slash and aim my fist at his stomach, but his second arm was already in motion, and I wasn't entirely sure if I could dodge it in time.

My fist landed in his stomach at the same time his _Scalpel_ grazed my arm, and he was sent flying through the air, and landing fifty feet away. He had severed the artery in my arm, which if I didn't stop soon, I would bleed out. I immediately formed some healing chakra around my hand and put it to the wound, closing it and replacing the blood loss just before it was too late. By the time I was done, Kabuto was already back on his feet and had healed the damage my attack had caused. I waited for him to come, but instead, he leaped off in the other direction, going towards the forest. "Hey, get back here, I'm not done with you yet!"

I yelled at him, and ran after him. I followed him for several minutes through piles of fallen trees and branches until we finally came close to Orochimaru's hideout. Laying there on the ground was the corpse of one of Orochimaru's men, I think his name was Igani, and Kabuto was right next to him. "Hey, what are you doing?" I asked, preparing to stop him.

He didn't answer, but instead made some hand signs and said, "_Dead Soul Jutsu!_" A stream of green chakra went from Kabuto's hand to Igani's body, and surrounded him completely. I had absolutely no idea what was about to happen until the corpse rose to its feet, looking at me with eyes that were absent of life. "Now then, let's see how well you do against him," Kabuto said smugly, and Igani made a hand sign.


	73. Chapter 72: Second Chance

I have a question for all you longtime writers out there; have you ever looked back at something you wrote years previously, and thought to yourself, "Did I really write this crap?" Well that's what is happening with me right now, while reviewing this last season. I know it was incredibly long and boring, but if you continued to stick with it, for nothing more than hopes that it would get better, then you have my gratitude. From here on out, however, the good stuff begins. Anyway, three more chapters until the Season Three Finale.

* * *

SECOND CHANCE

"_Dead Soul Jutsu!_" Igani's body rose from the ground and looked at me, no trace of life in his eyes. He also didn't have the injuries he had had before Kabuto revived him.

I could tell this had gotten a lot tougher, as Igani made some hand signs and said, "_Wood Style: Wood Spear!_" He fired a tendril of wood at me that was sharpened at the tip, but I sidestepped it and landed my fist in it, snapping it off like a twig. "_Wood Style: Wood Sword!_" His forearm turned into wood and converted into a sword, and he immediately charged me. If this was all the jutsu this guy knew, he was in some serious trouble. I summoned all of my strength and landed my fist into his stomach, making him spit out blood, and I swept his feet out from under him, making him land on the ground. I then got over him and made one final blow to his chest, shattering his chest bone.

I looked at Kabuto, silently asking him if that was all he had, and he said, "Just wanted to test you; now the real fight begins. _Dead Soul Jutsu!_" More green chakra emanated from Kabuto's hand and surrounded Igani's body, and I heard his chest bone move back into place, and he rose back to his feet, ready to go again.

"Okay, well, unless he was just holding back before, you can go all day and you won't be able to lay a hand on me," I warned as I waited for Igani to charge.

"Oh, don't worry, this time around will be much more challenging," Kabuto said to me. "You see, I just wanted to give you a sense of security against him, so when I sent him after you for real, I could get you easily."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," I said as I waited for Igani to charge.

Igani made some hand signs and said, "_Wood Style: Root Hammer!_" Nothing happened at first, until a tree root popped up out of the ground and rammed me in the stomach, making me spit out blood and drop to my knees. The pain from the _Root Hammer_ had rendered me completely unable to move while Igani formed a _Wood Sword_ and held it to my throat. I rolled out of the way before he could do anything and smashed my fist into the ground, but both Igani and Kabuto got out of the way. Kabuto got further away while Igani dived down on top of me with his _Wood Sword_ aimed at my face. I jumped back and he smashed into the ground, then made some hand signs and said, "_Wood Style: Multi Wood Spear!_"

He fired three _Wood Spears_ at me from his arm, and when I tried to jump out of the way of them, they homed in on me, trapping me in midair. I knew I had only one way out of this, but it was going to be tough to do. I wasn't nearly as athletic as Matt, or even Naruto. I swerved out of the way of the first _Wood Spear_ and busted the end off of it, and then back-flipped out of the way of the second and kicking the end off of it. I then finally used my chakra to slide down the side of the second _Wood Spear_ and dodge the third one. I jumped off and used my chakra to bust through the third _Wood Spear_ feet-first, then drop to the ground and slam my fist into it, causing a shockwave that tore up the ground twenty feet out.

"_Ninja Art: Vine Ropes!_" Two vines sprouted out of the ground and wrapped around my ankles, then hoisted me into the air and held me upside-down ten feet off the ground. "_Ninja Art: Venus Flytrap!_" The ground burst apart as a huge Venus flytrap with a mouth twenty feet wide sprung up, about to eat me alive. I was too scared to react, which gave it the chance it needed to swallow me whole. After a few seconds of chewing, it exploded, sending plant guts all over the place, and I dropped to the ground, panting in exhaustion. "_Wood Style: Tree Binding Jutsu!_" Wood sprouted up out of the ground and wrapped around my ankle, then grew up around me to form a tree, leaving a single hole for my face to breath.

Igani walked up to me with his _Wood Sword_ and put it against my throat. "Don't you know by now that trapping me is never going to work?" I asked, and the tree burst apart, making Igani shield his eyes, which gave me the opening to land my fist in his face and send him tumbling across the ground. When he came to a stop, he was cut up pretty bad, but he still seemed ready to go, whereas Kabuto had gone off and hidden himself in the commotion.

I charged Igani with my fist raised, but he made some hand signs and said, "_Wood Style: Domed Wood Wall!_" He planted his palm on the ground and wood sprouted up out of it between us, forming a dome around him that kept me from getting to him.

"Oh, come on, really?" I said, sending my fist into it and blasting it apart. When the dust cleared, Igani was gone, and since there was no way out, I had no idea where he had gone. "_Wood Style: Root Hammer!_" I saw the jutsu coming just in time to jump out of the way, and a tree root popped up out of the ground, but it followed me through the air. I landed on the ground and waited for it to come, and when it did, I sidestepped it then landed my fist in it, knocking the end off of it. Igani appeared behind me with his _Wood Sword_ raised, but I ducked his stab and aimed my fist at his stomach, only to have it blocked by the _Wood Sword_ in his opposite hand. I retracted my hand and spun around, landing my foot in his chin and sending him flying into the air.

I pulled out three kunai and threw them all up at Igani, landing them all in his body. I figured I had gotten him, but then he turned into wood, which meant he was setting up an ambush. I looked around the piles of fallen trees for him, but couldn't find him. Did that mean he had retreated? "_Wood Style:_ _Ambush Spear!_" _Wood Spears_ shot at me from every direction, and I jumped out of the way, but they all came back around and followed me through the air. They were close together, so I dropped a fire-kunai down at them, which blew them all apart and sent them all crashing to the ground, while I was still so high in the air, Igani's hiding spot was plain as day.

I threw another fire-kunai down at him, but he dodged it, and it exploded, blowing apart the pile of fallen trees he had been hiding behind. Igani made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Needle Stalk!_" A foot-and-a-half thick vine sprouted up out of the ground and shot up a hundred feet in the air, with what looked like follicles covering every inch of it. Just by the name of the jutsu, I had a pretty good idea what was about to come out of the follicles. While I was still in the air, hundreds upon hundreds of needles shot out of the vine, and I had absolutely no way out, so I could only take it and hope I somehow survived. I heard something coming at me from below, and thought it was another attack from Igani, but when I looked I saw it was a demon wind shuriken.

The shuriken shot up at me and knocked all of the needles that were about to hit me out of the air, then flew off out of sight. I landed on the ground and saw a flash of lightning, followed by a huge spatter of blood coming from Igani, who had been hit from behind with Kakashi-sensei's _Lightning Blade_. "Are you okay?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I answered, very thankful for his arrival. Kakashi-sensei dumped Igani's body and I ran over to him, saying, "Kabuto's still around here somewhere."

"Actually, he isn't," Kakashi-sensei informed me. "He was here, but retreated as soon as I arrived. Guess he figured he couldn't take both of us at the same time."

"Yeah, I guess," I said, sighing in relief.

"But Sakura, we have more important matters to deal with right now," he told me.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Follow me," and he ran off, leaving me confused, but I followed him nonetheless. I followed him to a pile of fallen trees, behind which he was bending over someone-someone's body.

"Oh my-!" It was Naruto, back in his normal form, but…all of his flesh was gone. It was just a red underside, like a horrible sunburn, but worse.

"Can you heal him?" Kakashi-sensei asked bitterly, looking down at Naruto.

"Uh, yeah," I said quickly, and I made some hand signs and bent down. I placed both of my hands on Naruto's chest, and was thankful to feel a steady heartbeat. My hands became surrounded in green chakra as I started to heal him, hoping he was going to be okay. At first, it didn't look like anything was happening, which made me really scared, but then, new flesh started growing. It was a slow, process, but as long as it worked, I wasn't complaining. I flashed back to Naruto's fight with Orochimaru, from the point to where he had grown the four tails. I didn't know what that was, and I had been too shocked to ask at the time. I guessed now was as good a time as any. "Kakashi-sensei?" I asked, not taking my eyes off Naruto.

"What is it?" he answered, and I had the sneaking suspicion he knew what I was going to ask. "What is he? What happened to Naruto?"

He was silent for a moment, but he finally said, "Fourteen years ago, when the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked the Hidden Leaf, all of our able ninja fought, but no one could bring the fox down. Finally, the Fourth Hokage stood against the Nine-Tails, and with a special sealing jutsu, sealed the Nine-Tails inside a newborn baby. That baby was Naruto. All of Naruto's family died trying to defeat the Nine-Tails, leaving Naruto utterly alone right from the start. Do you know what this means, Sakura? This is why everyone in the village shunned him; that's why he was never able to make friends, and why he always pulled pranks to get noticed."

I flashed back to the early days at the Hidden Leaf Ninja Academy, back when we were just little kids. I always saw Naruto, all alone, with nobody to talk to. My parents always told me not to associate with him, but they would never tell me why. I guess that explained it; they knew Naruto had the Nine-Tailed Fox within him, and now they associated Naruto with the demon, some even saying he was the Kyubi. Eventually, Naruto became so lonely, he started pulling pranks on the Hidden Leaf to get noticed, but that never worked. That had only made the villagers think less of him. Then, he met Sasuke.

Those two fought like cats and dogs, but when it really came down to it, they were a perfect team. They could execute the perfect strategy without even talking about it, and it would work every time. Then, when Sasuke left the Hidden Leaf, Naruto tried so hard to get him back, to save him, but Sasuke showed zero interest in Naruto's pleas, and continued to nearly kill him. Thinking about all this, it was no wonder why Naruto was so intent on saving Sasuke. By now, Naruto's skin had fully grown back, and he was perfectly healed, however, he was still out, which didn't surprise me.

"Okay, he just needs some rest, and he'll be fine," I said, looking down sadly at Naruto. And then I noticed it; "Hey, where's Matt?"

[Matt's point of view] I ran through Orochimaru's hideout, having searched room after room after room, with still no luck. I stopped outside a door, and could feel it; this was it. I placed my hand on the handle, bit back my nerves, and opened it. In the room was a bed, but nothing else. However, someone was laying on the bed, and his evil chakra left me with no doubt in my mind who it was.

"Who's there?" a voice rung out from the man on the bed. I was too nervous to answer, but it didn't matter; he wasn't in the mood. The hideout exploded, bringing a fifty-foot area to the ground, with sunlight shining in. I looked up onto the roof of the hideout, and standing up there, looking down at me, was him. Sasuke Uchiha.


	74. Chapter 73: Warrior of Chidori

Two more chapters until the Season Three Finale.

* * *

WARRIOR OF CHIDORI

A massive explosion destroyed half of the hideout, burying me completely in rubble. It took me a few seconds to realize what had just happened, but when I did, I busted my way out to see where he had went. I looked around, then spotted him standing on the roof of the hideout. He was looking down at me with a careless look on his face, his hand on his waist. He had long black hair, which framed the side of his face, onyx eyes, a white long-sleeved shirt that was open at the chest, some blue cloth wrapped around his waist tied in place with a purple rope, and black pants. I began to formulate a counterattack against him, but before I could even begin to think, he was right in front of me with his elbow aimed at my stomach.

"Gah!" I went flying back and smashed into one of the boulders that was previously part of the hideout. I rose to my hands and knees, one hand wrapped around my stomach where he had hit me. _How did he do that? I'm not even that fast._ He reached around his back to his belt and grasped the handle of his sword, which he pulled out and held it at his side. I got back to my feet and pulled out a kunai, even though I was pretty sure it wasn't going to do much good against him. It looked like everything they had said about him back in the Leaf Village was true, in fact, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was even stronger now.

"So, this is what you're capable of, eh…Sasuke…Uchiha?" In the blink of an eye, he appeared at my side, his elbow on my shoulder.

"I don't know who you are, but I can sense a lot of talent in you. I should kill you now, otherwise, you might cause trouble for me later," he said to me, still with the same careless look on his face as he raised his sword.

"Well…what are you waiting for?" I asked, and he brought his sword around with the tip coming at my back. The sword ran me through completely, coming out of my chest with blood dripping off the tip.

"Hmph, nice try," he said, and I disappeared in a puff of smoke. I walked out from behind a pile of rubble, keeping my eyes firmly on Sasuke in case he moved at light-speed again.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired the huge fireball at him, but he disappeared in a burst of speed, and the fireball smashed into the wall and brought a huge chunk of it down. Sasuke appeared behind me with his sword aimed at my back, but I disappeared in a burst of speed, quickly followed by Sasuke. We both met in midair, his sword meeting with my kunai, and we both slashed at each other until we landed back in the hideout then jumped away from each other. I skidded across the ground and made three hand signs, and said, "_Chidori!_" My hand became surrounded in a surge of lightning, and I looked at Sasuke to see his reaction, but he seemed completely nonchalant about it.

I charged him head-on, ready to rip him apart if I had to, but he made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I jumped out of the way of his fireball and flew clear over him, my _Chidori_ still fully active, and I landed behind him and thrusted the _Chidori_ at his back. He spun around and met my _Chidori_ with his sword, and I was shocked at first that his sword held out but when I looked more closely, I saw the sword was surrounded in an aura of lightning. I wrenched my _Chidori_ from his sword and we both jumped back, landing twenty feet away.

Sasuke studied me for a few seconds, then said, "As impressive as it is that you can perform _Chidori_, you still only seem to be able to perform the premature version."

"And what do you mean by that?" I asked.

"This," he answered, and he made three hand signs. "_Chidori!_" Instead of a surge around his entire hand, a concentrated ball of lightning formed in his palm, and he held it out, throwing lightning all over the place. It was the same as Kakashi's version, which he had dubbed _Lightning Blade_. "This is the true form of the _Chidori_. It's strongest form," he told me.

"Alright, let's see whose is stronger," I said, making three more hand signs and forming a second _Chidori_ in my hand. We both charged at the same time, and collided our _Chidoris_ with each other, which caused a shockwave that blasted a crater into the ground, and threw lightning off in every direction. I managed to hold out at first, but then my _Chidori_ exploded, blasting me with electricity and sending me flying back, and rolling across the ground. Okay, Sasuke's jutsu was definitely stronger, I just hoped he wasn't too strong, otherwise I was in a lot of trouble. I decided to save _Rasengan_ for later, hoping that would throw him off, and instead made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired twenty tiny fireballs at him, but he jumped out of the way, making about half a dozen of them smash into the wall while the rest of them followed him through the air. Without making a single hand sign, Sasuke formed a _Chidori_ in his hand, and swiped it through the air, saying, "_Chidori Senbon!_" He fired a wave of needles made from lightning, that blew away all the fireballs, and continued down on top of me. I dived out of the way and they all smashed into the ground, then immediately disappeared. Sasuke dived down on top of me with his sword aimed at me. I had no kunai to defend myself with, so I was forced to roll out of the way as he hit the ground, his sword embedded in it.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired three medium-sized fireballs at him, hoping to get him away from his sword, and it worked, as he jumped out of the way, with the fireballs in hot pursuit. He back-flipped through the air, then landed on the ground, made some hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" His fireball merged with all three of my fireballs, making it bigger as it shot towards me. "_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" I formed a dome of condensed air around me to block the fireball, and succeeded, blowing it all around me and scorching the ground. When the fire cleared, Sasuke actually seemed mildly impressed.

"You can use Fire, Lightning, and Wind Chakra Natures?" he asked me.

"Yeah, and that's not all," I said, making some hand signs. "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I fired five balls of water at Sasuke, who jumped out of the way, letting them all fly and smash into the wall. He landed and skidded across the ground and grabbed his sword, his eyes showing much more interest.

"What are you, a genin?" he asked me.

"Chunin," I answered.

"It shows," he complimented me. "What village?"

"Leaf, same as you," I answered. His expression immediately turned from interest to annoyance.

"Would you by chance be on the same retrieval squad as Naruto Uzumaki?" he asked in a tone to match his face.

"You got it," I answered, "Along with Sakura Haruno, and Kakashi Hatake." At this, he only became more annoyed, and I was afraid he was going to mutilate me.

"Well, regardless of who you're with, the only person I've _ever_ seen able to use more than three chakra natures is Kakashi, and that's only through his possession of the _Sharingan_. I'm guessing you're a possessor of that legendary eye jutsu, the _Rinnegan_?"

"Exactly," I answered.

"Well, then," he said, closing his eyes, "in that case, I'm going to need…_this_!" He opened his eyes and my jaw dropped at what I saw. His eyes, both of them, were red with black comma-shaped dots outlining the pupil. It was the _Sharingan_.

"Wait, you have the _Sharingan_ too?" I asked him in shock.

"That's right," he answered. "The _Sharingan_ is a kekkei-genkai that resides within the Uchiha clan, and the Uchiha alone. How Kakashi got it is beyond me," he told me.

"Okay then," I said, preparing for a very tough battle. Actually, this suited me very well. Maybe a head-on fight with the _Sharingan_ would be exactly what I needed to awaken the _Rinnegan_. I had no doubt in my mind that if I awoke the _Rinnegan_, not even Sasuke would be able to defend against it. In the meantime, I just had to go at him with the strongest, fastest jutsu I had in order to get him to use his full power. If only I knew some more lightning jutsu; that would help immensely, but the only jutsu I had learned was that _Fire Style_ jutsu, but that was only to use as a last-resort; it was probably my strongest jutsu, and therefore consumed all kinds of chakra.

I cursed myself for not learning some more jutsu while back home, but I honestly didn't think I would ever need them. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" Sasuke dived out of the way of my jutsu, and immediately got back to his feet and charged me with his sword. I made a hand sign and said, "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" A single clone appeared right in front of me, but Sasuke blasted through it like it was made of paper, and ran me through with his sword. I disappeared in a puff of smoke and came out a log, embedded on Sasuke's sword.

Sasuke swiped his sword outward, cutting through the wood and freeing his blade, and he turned around and looked up on the roof to see me kneeling there, although I still didn't know what to do next. Sasuke disappeared in a burst of speed and turned up right behind me, running me through from behind with his sword. I disappeared in a puff of smoke and Sasuke jumped back down into the hideout. I appeared behind him with a kunai raised, but he spun around and met me with his sword. He enhanced his sword with lightning, and immediately cleaved the blade off my kunai, even managing to graze my face with it, but I jumped back before he could do anything else.

He formed a _Chidori_ in his hand and said, "_Chidori Sharp Spear!_" He fired a circuit of lightning from his hand at me that I just barely managed to dive out of the way of, although it still grazed my upper arm. While I was still on the ground, Sasuke planted his palm on the ground and said, "_Chidori Stream!_" He fired a channel of lightning across the ground at me, which hit me head-on, electrocuting me and making my body go numb. I couldn't move, so I laid on the ground, waiting for Sasuke to come over and finish me.

_Man, I've never seen anything like this guy!_ I thought to myself. _I am _way_ in over my head with this!_ Sasuke lingered over me with his sword in hand, and I knew this was it for me. His blade became engulfed in an aura of lightning, and he raised it up and put it over my heart. He brought it down, and at that instant, the numbing effect of the lightning wore off, and only by pure reflex did I manage to roll out of the way, then get to my feet and make some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a thin but intense jet of flame at Sasuke, whom I thought I had hit head-on, but he jumped out of the flame, completely unharmed.

"How in the world did you survive that?" I asked him, my mouth ajar.

"I created an armor of lightning to block the attack just before it hit, ensuring my complete protection," he explained. "However," he added in an undertone, "If I'm to be able to beat you, I'm going to have to stop going easy." Was he serious? He had nearly killed me like three times, and he was still going easy? Great. What was he about to do next? Then, I felt his chakra grow darker, and he became engulfed in waves of purple chakra. As I watched, fiery orange light protruded from the back of his neck, and it separated into dozens of marks that spread across his entire body. The fiery orange light faded to inky black, and resembled tattoos across his entire body, which looked like fire.


	75. Chapter 74: The New Jutsu

One more chapter until the Season Three Finale.

* * *

THE NEW JUTSU

The black marks set around his body like fire, and I watched in shock as the purple chakra faded, and his eyes opened, his _Sharingan_ staring right at my eyes. "You ready?" he said, and his voice had darkened so much, I was actually shocked.

"Wh-What are you?" I asked.

"I'm a shinobi, just like you, however, this is a Curse Mark given to me by Orochimaru, as a mere taste of the power he's promised me," he answered.

"Okay, well, why do you want this power?" I asked. "Why did you leave the Leaf and join Orochimaru?"

His eyes closed, and he seemed to be caught in a whirl of memories, bad memories, that kept him silent for several seconds. "It's none of your concern," he finally said in an evil voice "What I do is no one's business, especially some newbie who doesn't know anything about me!" He said the last bit in a roar, and disappeared in a burst of speed. He was a lot faster than he had ever been before, and he appeared behind me, a _Chidori_ active. I jumped out of the way, and the _Chidori_ grazed my back, sending blood spattering across the ground. "_Chidori Sharp Spear!_" He fired another circuit of electricity at me while I was still in the air, which meant I could only barrel-roll out of the way and take a grazing to the leg.

I was really bloody now, which was a record for me, having gotten this bloody faster than I ever had before. While I was still in the air, Sasuke swiped the _Chidori Sharp Spear_ around, but I was already mostly out of range of it, making it graze my chest. I landed on the ground and Sasuke charged, his sword engulfed in the lightning aura. I just barely managed to duck his slash, and I jumped at him, trying to tackle him to the ground. "_Chidori Armor!_" Just before I got to him, lightning erupted around his body, electrocuting me and blasting me back, making me slam into some rubble that was previously part of the hideout, and nearly knocking me out. I looked up at Sasuke with blood coming out of my mouth, and saw him walking towards me, sword in hand.

I got to a kneeling position and made some hand signs, then said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired the fireball at him, but he super-sped out of the way and appeared behind the chunk of rubble I was in front of, and I jumped out of the way just as he cleaved the boulder in half with his lightning-enhanced sword.

He formed a _Chidori_ in his hand and swiped it through the air, saying, "_Chidori Senbon!_" He fired another wave of needles at me, but I conjured a single _Shadow Clone_ to take the hit, leaving me perfectly safe. That lasted until Sasuke appeared right behind me with his sword raised, but I aimed my foot in his stomach, to be met by his blade. I spun around completely and thrust the back of my fist at his face, which he caught with his own fist. I retracted my foot from his sword and re-aimed it at his chest, only to be caught by his other hand, still holding his sword at the same time. Now, I had him. I sent my other fist at his face, but in the blink of an eye, he landed his foot in my stomach and sent me flying back, slamming into the wall of the hideout.

By now, I could definitely see how Naruto might have had some difficulty with this guy; he had cut me to ribbons, yet I hadn't even managed to scratch him. I stumbled back to my feet, waiting for more, but I was really happy to see it seemed he had calmed down, although his Curse Mark was still active, which didn't bode well for me. Sasuke waited for me to get back to my feet, which I did slowly, although I was surprised I wasn't knocked back down again. I formed a _Rasengan_ in my hand, which really surprised him. "Did Naruto teach you that?" he asked me.

"No, Kakashi did, just like he taught me _Chidori_," I answered, preparing to charge with my jutsu.

"I'll be interested to see just how well _you_ perform that jutsu," Sasuke said, as he sheathed his sword and formed a _Chidori_ in his hand. We both charged and met at the center of the hole in the hideout, and both chakra and lightning were thrown off in every direction. Both of our attacks held firm, until they both exploded and sent us flying into the walls of the hideout. I crawled my way slowly out of the rubble while Sasuke busted his way out with _Chidori_, then wiped blood from his chin. "You perform that jutsu well," he complimented me, "possibly even better than Naruto, however…" He rose to his feet and said, "It'll take a lot more than that to defeat me!"

"Oh, you mean like the fire-kunai that's right next to you?"

He saw it the instant before it exploded, blasting a huge chunk of the hideout down, and engulfed Sasuke in a cloud of smoke. The smoke cleared to reveal Sasuke surrounded in a _Chidori Armor_, which had shielded him from the blast. "Anything else you'd like to throw at me?" he asked.

"Of course! Just hold on and let me think a sec," I said, really hoping I came up with something soon. Apparently, Sasuke didn't feel like waiting, although why, I couldn't say, but he appeared behind me with his sword raised, and I jumped out of the way, landing fifteen feet away. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Ember Shot!_" I fired a tiny fireball at Sasuke, but he swung his lightning-enhanced sword and destroyed the fireball, not even giving it a chance to explode. While he had been distracted with that, I super-sped around behind him with my fist raised, but he spun around and landed his foot in my stomach, sending me flying back and slamming into the wall.

I dropped into a sitting position on the ground, and looked up through dazed eyes at Sasuke, who was waiting for me to get back to my feet. I stumbled up, leaning against the wall for support, but before I could get my senses back, Sasuke made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" He fired twenty tiny fireballs at me that smashed into the ground all around me, knocking me off my feet and making me crack my head open against the wall and slide down to a sitting position. Finally, my vision became normal and I could think properly, and I got back to my feet, and charged. I got within five feet of Sasuke, then super-sped around behind him with a _Rasengan_ in my hand.

I came within two inches of him with _Rasengan_ when he jumped out of the way and fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ down at me. "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I fired half a dozen _Liquid Bullets_ at the fireball, which put it out and flew at Sasuke, who managed to dive out of the way of them all. He landed on the ground and charged me with his sword, but I jumped back and landed on the wall of the hideout, then jumped across the room before Sasuke could get to me. He turned around and looked at me, and I was kneeling on the wall, looking at him, wondering what to do next.

Any one of those _Chidori_-derived jutsu would have been very helpful to me, and had I known they had even existed, I would have learned them. Finally coming to a decision, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I covered the entire room in fire, which also blasted out into the hallway, but I would have been amazed if Sasuke had actually been touched. Some of the fire made way for Sasuke, who was once more surrounded in a _Chidori Armor_.

"You should know by now that as long as I have my _Chidori Armor_, you can't touch me," Sasuke told me.

"Yeah, but how long do you actually have it?" I asked, a smile on my face. "_Chidori_ consumes chakra faster than just about any other jutsu I've ever seen. I can only imagine how much those derived jutsu cost, especially as many times as you've used them," I told him.

He smiled at this, and said, "You have a point there; _Chidori_ does consume a lot of chakra, but being weaker than the original, none of the derived jutsu come close to the consumption-rate of _Chidori_," Sasuke explained to me.

"Great," I said in an undertone, really thinking I had him there.

Sasuke made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I dropped off the wall, making most of the fireballs smash into it, while the rest followed me.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" My fireball incinerated Sasuke's jutsu, but he jumped out of the way of the fireball and dived down on top of me with his lightning-enhanced sword. I rolled out of the way, and he smashed into the ground and I leaped at him, but he kicked me in the stomach and sent me flying back, then wrenched his sword out of the ground and held it at his side. I got back to my feet and made three hand signs, then formed a _Chidori_. Sasuke engulfed his sword in the lightning-aura, and I charged him, hoping I would fare better this time. I collided my _Chidori_ with his sword, and lightning was thrown off in every direction, but we both were evenly matched. I planned on fixing that.

I formed a _Rasengan_ in my other hand and collided it with the sword as well, making Sasuke force all his strength into the sword to keep it in his hands. Finally, both my jutsu exploded, and Sasuke's sword went flying through the air, then came down and embedded itself in the ground. I rose off the ground into a sitting position, wiped blood off my lip, and looked at Sasuke, who had smashed into the wall, and was now sitting in it. He had blood coming out of his mouth as well, but considering this was the second time I had actually managed to hurt him, as opposed to the dozen or so he had hurt me, he wasn't really in too much pain. While he was still dazed though, I got to my feet, made some hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

The fireball hit Sasuke head-on, blasting the wall out, but Sasuke flew out of the smoke and landed on his feet without a scratch on him. "_Chidori Stream!_" He fired another channel of lightning across the ground at me, but I knew better this time, and I jumped out of the way. While I was still in the air, Sasuke appeared right in front of me with his sword raised, but I ducked his slash and flipped upside-down, diving down to the ground, followed by Sasuke. I flipped right-side-up and jumped back the instant before Sasuke landed on the ground, and he left his sword behind, being stuck in the ground, charging me with his fist raised.

I caught his fist, but he grabbed my arm and lifted me up over his head, spun around and kicked me in the stomach to make sure I didn't counterattack, and let me fall back down. He then kicked me in the stomach again and sent me sliding across the ground and slamming into the wall. I laid there on the ground, barely conscious, looking up at Sasuke, who was waiting for me to get back up. It looked like it was time for that new jutsu. I slowly got back to my feet, and made about fifteen hand signs. All of the fire around the hideout flew up into the air above the hideout and compacted into a sphere about five feet in diameter.

I extended my chakra-reach to the flames all across the now-destroyed forest surrounding the hideout, which flew up into the air as well and expanded the sphere to about fifteen feet in diameter. "_Fire Style: Volcanic Crater!_" The sphere exploded, sending waves of fire down to the ground, bringing the room we were in to the ground, and also tearing the ground above us apart, causing fires everywhere within fifty feet of the hideout. I wasn't protected from the jutsu, so I had to conjure a _Wind Style: Air Shield_ to block the waves. The smoke finally cleared to reveal a cloud of purple chakra concealing Sasuke, me really hoping he was dead.

Then, the chakra cleared, and I knew this was the end of this fight. He rose to his feet, and he had gray skin, blue hair down to his waist that didn't lose its style, and the whites in his eyes were black. He was a demon.


	76. Chapter 75: The Strongest Opponent

The Season Three Finale. I want to extend an enormous thank you to the people who have taken the time to read this, and especially to the people who have stuck with it. To those who have become a regular fan of the story, through its ups and downs, I want to make a statement of utmost sincerety: You guys are awesome! I know I've made several failed attempts to gain some popularity for the story, such as the wiki (I'm caught up to Season Two) and the twitter (I'm pretty sure I have one follower?). I guess that's what happens when you try to gain publicity off of someone else's creation. Oh, well. From here on out, I'm focusing on writing, and trying to remember to post on Sundays. Once again, thank you to all.

* * *

THE STRONGEST OPPONENT

"What is this!?" I said, terrified at what I was seeing.

Sasuke's skin was gray and his hair was blue, and had grown down to his waist, but without losing its style. The whites around his eyes had faded to black, but the eyes themselves were the regular _Sharingan_. "This," Sasuke answered, "is the Second Stage of my Curse Mark, which enhances my abilities far beyond that of the initial Curse Mark." He then took his arms out of the sleeves of his shirt and tied them around his waist, revealing his bare chest. I wondered what he had done this for, until he bent down, grunting in pain. A huge lump formed on his back, wriggling like there was some sort of huge bug in there, until it burst open, and something very large sprung out. As I looked at it, I realized it was a wing. It was shaped like a hand with webbing between the 'fingers', and the webbing was covered in tiny finger-like projections.

Another lump appeared on his back, and seconds later, a second wing sprung out, completely identical with the first. His sword was right next to him, but he didn't even bother grabbing it, as he held his hand out without making any hand signs, and a _Chidori_ formed in it. I didn't even have time to react when Sasuke had landed his _Chidori_ in my gut, running me through completely. I disappeared in a puff of smoke and came out a boulder that had been cleaved in two by Sasuke's jutsu, and I appeared right beside him, sliding across the ground with my feet aimed at his. Sasuke flapped his wing once, and a huge gust of wind blew me through the air and smashed me into the wall, making me spit out blood.

I wrenched myself out of the wall and dropped to the ground, laying on all fours, barely able to move. "_Fire Style: Ember Shot!_" Sasuke blew a tiny fireball right under me, and it exploded, blowing me back and slamming me into the wall again. This time, I breathed through the pain and got to my feet, charging Sasuke head-on, but he caught my fist and pushed me back with it, sending me skidding back several feet.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" Sasuke let the fireball hit him, but when the flames cleared, he was completely unharmed. I charged him with a _Chidori_ in my hand, hoping to throw him off, but he grabbed his sword, surrounded it in an aura of lightning, and met it with my _Chidori_. He used all his strength to pull his sword through my _Chidori_, and it exploded, blasting me back and slamming me into the wall again. I opened my eyes to find Sasuke right in front of me with his sword aimed at my heart, but I super-sped out of the way just as he embedded his sword in the wall.

I appeared behind him and charged in with a _Rasengan_, but Sasuke disappeared, and I smashed the _Rasengan_ into the wall, blasting out a huge chunk of it. I turned around and saw Sasuke with a _Chidori_, and I formed another _Rasengan_ and charged. Our jutsu met and blasted a crater into the ground, but a second later, my _Rasengan_ exploded, and I was sent spiraling back with electricity all over me. I smashed into the wall and slid down onto the ground, my head cracked open in several places. I slowly got back to my feet, leaning against the wall for support, and Sasuke just stood there, waiting for me to attack him.

"Is that really all you have? I honestly thought a barer of the _Rinnegan_ would be a lot stronger," Sasuke said to me.

"Yeah, well, I got news for ya', I don't have the _Rinnegan_, or at least not yet. It's still dormant, but I thought fighting you would have awakened it," I added in an undertone.

Seriously, where was that jutsu? I could barely stand up, and it was just snoozing away, completely ignorant of my struggle. If only I had enough chakra for another _Fire Style: Volcanic Crater_. That would take care of this no problem. Unfortunately, I doubted I had enough chakra for a _Chidori_. Sasuke finally decided I wasn't going to come, and formed a _Chidori_ in his hand. "_Chidori Senbon!_" He waved the _Chidori_ through the air and sent a wave of needles at me, which hit me and knocked me off my feet. I no longer had the ability to move, as I laid there, blood all over me, barely conscious. Sasuke walked over to me and raised his sword, aiming it down at my heart.

The paper-bomb I set just before I had been hit with _Chidori Senbon_ exploded behind Sasuke, nearly blasting him off his feet, and I shot to my feet and landed my fist in his face, and then lowered myself to the ground and spun around. I landed my foot in his chin, sending him floating into the air, and I jumped up after him, floating parallel below him. "What is this!?" he said, blood trickling from his mouth.

"Your jutsu, if I remember right," I told him with a smile on my face. "_Lion's Barrage!_" I brought my leg up and down on top of him, sending him dropping down passed me, and I landed my fist in his stomach, then spun around, landed the back of my fist in his stomach. I spun around once more and landed my foot in his stomach, making him spit out blood and smash into the ground, sending dust and rubble everywhere. I crashed to the ground too, unable to even summon the strength to move. That last move had taken every spare ounce of strength left out of me. Using it probably wasn't the wisest decision, but if it subdued Sasuke once and for all, I wasn't complaining.

The dust cleared, and my heart dropped as I saw Sasuke back on his feet, gasping in pain, blood coming out of his mouth. I knew I was dead, and this time, there was absolutely nothing I could do, but I could finally get back to my feet to try and defend myself. Sasuke made three hand signs and held out his hand, where a _Chidori_ formed. I watched as the _Chidori_ faded from bright-blue, almost white, to a white core and black exterior, with black lightning coming off of it. Sasuke charged, his black_ Chidori_ raised, and I knew I was dead. Sasuke got to me, thrusted his _Chidori_ at my heart, but the instant before he hit, he spat out blood, and his _Chidori_ turned white, and he lowered it to my stomach. I was hit dead-on with it, blood spattering everywhere, and an explosion of dust occurred, concealing everything and making me think I was dead.

When the dust cleared, I was still alive, but I was laying on the ground, and Sasuke was standing over me, a final _Chidori_ in his hand. This time, he could only manage a surge around his hand, but I knew that was more than enough to finish me. Just before he hit me, he deactivated his _Chidori_ and jumped back, and someone landed right where he had been, his _Rasengan_ blasting up dust. As Sasuke flew through the air, he became engulfed in a fiery-red light, and reverted back to his human form, his wings shrinking into his body, and his hair shortening to its original length. The dust cleared and Naruto was standing there, looking up at Sasuke, who was standing on the roof of the hideout, perfectly human again.

Sakura and Kakashi landed on either side of Naruto, both looking up at Sasuke as well. Just when I thought they were going to attack, two puffs of smoke appeared on either side of Sasuke, out of which appeared Orochimaru and Kabuto. Both were basically unharmed, and both were looking down on us with smiles on their faces. "Sasuke…" Naruto said, and just when I thought a war was about to break out, Orochimaru's, Kabuto's, and Sasuke's feet all caught fire. The fire spread up their bodies, and as it passed over them, they began to disappear. They were retreating; Sasuke was getting away. Naruto only watched in horror, as Sasuke kept his eyes on me right until the last second, until the flames consumed him completely and he was gone.

Naruto dropped to his knees and banged his fist onto the ground, saying, "Dammit!" He banged his fist on the ground several more times, each time saying, "Dammit! Dammit!" Sakura only stood there, keeping silent, while Kakashi turned around and walked over to me to see if I was okay. I managed to get back to my feet with the support of Kakashi, and I watched Naruto on the ground, cursing himself for not being fast enough. As I watched, I saw trickles of something drop to the ground right in front of him, and I realized they were tears…Naruto was crying. I looked over at Sakura to see what she was doing, and saw that she was crying as well, just much more silently so. I couldn't cry; I didn't know the guy well enough to cry, but I did know one thing: I was going to find him again, and when I did, things would be different.

Kakashi helped me outside the hideout, but since I was too beaten up to walk, they left me sitting there while they went off to collect our stuff. I looked around, amazed by all the damage we had caused, at the once thriving forest that was now a wasteland, with not a single living plant in sight. About an hour later, the three of them came back, and Sakura healed me to the point where I could walk again, but she didn't have the chakra to do anything else. We walked back to the Hidden Leaf, and three days later, we were there. We walked through the gate, talked to nobody, and headed directly for Tsunade's mansion.

When we got there, we told her everything that had happened, from the interference by the Rain, to the battle with Orochimaru's associates, to Naruto transforming and fighting Orochimaru, to me fighting Sasuke. When we finished, Tsunade was facing the opposite direction, out her window, surveying the village. "So the mission was a failure?" she asked. At this, Naruto's head drooped, and I was afraid he was about to start crying again.

"Yeah," Kakashi said after a moment's pause.

"Right," Tsunade said. "Go to the Hidden Leaf Hospital for treatment. We'll talk later." She dismissed us, and we all walked to the hospital.

None of us felt like explaining to them what had happened, but we were spared by them not asking. Judging by the grim looks on their faces, they knew what we had been doing, and since Sasuke wasn't here, they knew the outcome of it. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi spent one night in the hospital to rest, but since my injuries were far worse, I was stuck for a whole week. When I was finally released, Kakashi and Sakura went off in their own directions while Naruto and I walked to the local ramen shop. This guy loved ramen like an alligator loves meat. I could only work my way through one bowl while Naruto bought three, but since the owner had heard of our mission failure, he gave us both a bowl on the house. I gave mine to Naruto.

"So…what are you gonna do?" Naruto asked me when he was done.

"I guess just go back home and try to explain my absence for the past two weeks. Shouldn't be that hard," I answered, thinking about everything that had happened. "But if you find any trace of Sasuke, you come get me; I don't care what you have to barge in on, just get to me as quick as you can," I told him.

"Right, you can count on it," Naruto said, and we both ordered another bowl.

Meanwhile, in space, just outside of Earth's atmosphere, a satellite orbited the planet. Along the body of the craft read the letters: S.N.I.S. A camera attached to the satellite observed the endless blackness of space, until a giant green space ship the size of an aircraft carrier flew into orbit, fresh from a dogfight. Cargo doors opened on the bottom of the ship, out of which shot hundreds of yellow beams that flew across the entire planet. The cargo doors closed, and a large projectile blew the satellite into smithereens. A second space ship that was even larger than the first one and was a deep purple in color loomed into orbit.


	77. Chapter 76: Initiation

How was everyone's first month of school? Mine sucked. A lot. Anyway, if you're new to the series, welcome, and I hope you enjoy it. If you've been with us since the beginning, welcome back. To those of you who have been with the series for a while, or at least since before Season Four, this is directed to you: What you are about to read is completely different than the content of the last three seasons. This is what Naruto Chronicles was orignally. This is my own conception of the story and how it started out. This storyline was the first thing I had ever written, and I went back over it and rewrote it to make it better. I won't tell you what kind of action you're in for from here on out, but I will tell you this: It's a crossover.

* * *

INITIATION

And here we are, back in St. Peters, Missouri, my hometown. I was still in seventh grade at DuBray Middle School, and it sucked every bit as much now as it did a month-and-a-half ago. The good thing was that school was almost over, and I would be free. I couldn't get my mind off of Sasuke Uchiha, waking up every morning hoping I would get a call from the Leaf, and going to sleep every night disappointed. Ever since I had gotten back a month ago, life had been pretty boring. I explained my absence by saying I got a really, really bad case of pneumonia, and I was puking every hour of every day.

This drew the attention of one Nichole Schroeder, who was very intent on making sure I was okay. She asked several times, until the point where I became rather annoyed. Then I remembered; she hadn't believed me when I explained why I was gone for the last quarter of sixth grade either. When I assured her one last time that I was fine, she looked in my eyes, trying to pry the truth out of me, but unfortunately for her, I was a really good liar.

Finally, she got up and walked away, only to be replaced by someone else. "Hello, Jenny," I said, knowing exactly what was coming. Her name was Jenny Rodrick, and I had just met her this year, before I left for the Sasuke mission. She was my best friend and I really cared about her (I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong).

"Hi," she said softly, and I got the feeling she was going to be much harder to convince than Nichi. "I would have asked you this weeks ago, but I never really got a good chance to talk to you, so…Matt…where were you?"

"You're telling me the story hasn't spread across the whole school?" I said to her. "I got pneumonia, and was at home puking. Would you like the details?" I asked her, hoping that would shut her up.

She looked at me with a slightly angry look on her face, and I immediately regretted the smart comment. "Fine," she said, getting to her feet. "Where were you at the end of last year?"

"I moved," I answered. "I moved to downtown St. Louis, but after the shootout right outside our house, we decided we liked St. Peters better and came back." I had made up every word I just spoke off the top of my head, but I figured I had said it with a convincing enough tone, so….

"Matt," she said, "please tell me the truth."

At this, I knew nothing I said could convince her, so I just said, "Jenny…I can't."

She seemed happier that I had finally revealed that I had been lying to her, as she smiled slightly, and said, "Fine. I won't make you tell me now, but eventually, we'll talk." She got up and left, making me regret hinting her in on it. I decided to let it go and finish my work.

I was currently wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with "VANS" printed on it, going from top to bottom, and I also had worn, dark blue-jeans. As I left my second hour class to go to my third, my thoughts faded from Jenny back to Sasuke, and my never-ending hopes of finding him. I sat down and dazed my way through class, but halfway through, a voice spoke over the intercom: "Mrs. McNair, could you please send Matt Withau up to the office?" My eyes widened as I heard this, wondering what on earth I could have done. Then I nearly threw a desk out the window as I realized Jenny must have told the office that I had been lying about all my absences.

I stormed up to the office, fully prepared to convict Jenny of lying, but when I got to the office, I realized my absences seemed to not be the problem. The principle of the school, Mrs. McKinley was standing there, staring at me with her arms folded. I looked around the room, wondering why she was looking at me like that, and then I noticed two girls sitting in the corner of the room. At first, I thought I was seeing things, so I shook my head and stared more closely, and I realized my vision was perfectly fine.

"Hi, Matt," said one of them.

"Hey," said the other.

"Hey, Taylor. Hello, Erin," I said to my cousins, Taylor Edwards and Erin Bell (they were half-sisters), wondering why they were in my school when they lived in Wentzville, Missouri.

"I called you here to assist us with something," Mrs. McKinley said to me, "and I called your cousins here to assist you." As soon as she said this, I knew my cover was blown. In fact, if I had to guess right, my cover had been blown since the moment Mr. Teki attacked me last year.

"What do you need?" I asked nervously, hoping it wasn't some stupid errand.

"Follow me. Taylor, Erin, you come too." Taylor and Erin got up and the three of us followed Mrs. McKinley through a door leading out of the office. This room had enough technology to make the CIA jealous; computers, machines, gizmos… everything you could think of.

"Okay, obviously I'm not the only one with a secret," I said, looking around.

"You've never been more correct," Mrs. McKinley said. "DuBray Middle School is actually a cover; this is the headquarters of the SNIS, and I am its Director," she explained to us.

After a moment, I said, "SNIS?" "The Supernatural Investigative Service," McKinley answered. "We deal with top secret threats based on the supernatural level, hence the name," she explained.

"Okay, so you mean like my kind of supernatural?" I asked, which I figured was a really good idea.

"Not necessarily," McKinley said, and she turned around and walked to the computer in the center of the room. She typed on it, and a few seconds later, ten photos popped up on the screen. As I watched them all pop up, one at a time, my eyes widened. McKinley turned around to start explaining, but stopped when she saw the look on my face. "I…take it you know what we're dealing with here?" she asked me, a concerned expression on her face.

"That's the Decepticlone Army," I said, unbelieving of this.

"And…you came by this information…how?" McKinley asked me, even more confused.

"One of my missions in the Leaf involved retrieving documents on some enemy personnel. When I found it, it turned out to be information on these guys. I honestly didn't think they would turn up as a threat so soon," I admitted.

"Well, they did," McKinley said. "Now normally, SNIS would take care of this threat on its own, but considering there seems to be about a hundred thousand or so of these things running around, and we're kind of limited on agents and resources, we need you to help," McKinley explained.

"Okay, I don't have a problem with that, but what are these two doing here?" I asked, gesturing to my cousins.

"They're here to provide you backup out in the field; we figured someone you knew well would be a good choice for your first mission," McKinley answered.

And then my mind strayed to other matters; "You know, a super-special agency like this one, devoted to bringing down supernatural threats has to have some kind of futuristic weaponry, am I wrong?" I said, looking at McKinley hopefully. She smiled and turned around, making me figure that was a no, but then something struck me; "Okay, well, I may have the strength to bring these guys down, but what about these two? If they go out in the field unarmed, there's no way they'll survive."

"Which is exactly why I'm giving the three of you our most basic blasters," McKinley informed us.

'_Most basic'?_ I thought to myself, rather disappointed. She walked over to a table with three blasters sitting on it, and picked them all up and brought them over. I guessed it was better than nothing as I grabbed one of them and examined it, then mounted it on my wrist, and watched the cuffs close themselves. "Anywhere I can test this out?" I asked, looking at it, noticing several different buttons on it.

"Just shoot a wall, you're not gonna hurt anything," McKinley advised, and I aimed it at a random wall, pressed the trigger button that was on a bar attached to the blaster, coming down below my hand. When I pressed it, a tiny, bright-blue blast fired out and hit the wall, leaving a scorch mark in the metal.

"That's it?" I said, severely disappointed.

"Well, luckily for you, I still haven't told you the Decepticlone Army's mission," McKinley said. I immediately looked up at this, wondering if it was going to be anything other than just destroy everything that moves. "The Decepticlones are after extraterrestrial artifacts known as Mini-Cons. These Mini-Cons are highly sophisticated fighting aids, ranging from blasters and melee weapons to flight mechanisms, speed enhancers, you name it," McKinley said.

"And where might these Mini-Cons be?" I asked.

"Anywhere," she answered. "A month ago, we got a satellite image of a ship coming into Earth orbit. Pull it up," she said to one of the people working the computers.

He began typing on it and a video popped up of a view of the endless blackness of space. The camera then swayed up to an enormous spaceship the size of the Empire State Building coming in hot. It had suffered serious damage from a dogfight, although I'd hate to see the thing that could compete with that. A compartment opened up on the ship, and out of it shot yellow beams, hundreds upon hundreds of them, all spreading out across the earth and landing in different areas of the planet. The camera veered back to the ship just in time to see a missile collide into it and cause the ship to explode with enough force to blow the satellite off course.

The satellite was just barely able to regain its balance as the camera set on a ship, even bigger than the one it just shot down, a dark, menacing purple and completely untouched. One of the turrets aimed at the satellite and fired, and the screen went blank. "After that, the Decepticlones invaded the planet in search of the Mini-Cons. They've already destroyed dozens of tiny towns across the United States alone," McKinley continued, and she nodded to another guy, and another video popped up on the screen.

This one was of a news report explaining the sudden and unprovoked devastation of Winona, Kansas by unknown means. The reporter said there were no survivors of the attack, marking approximately a hundred and fifty deaths. No one knew what had caused the attack, or why, but it wasn't the first. Then, a photo montage of several other towns popped up, all in ruins. I watched in awe, unbelieving that anything could just show up and kill hundreds of people just to look for something.

"Okay…when do we go?" I asked, ready to kill these things.

"Now," McKinley answered, "You will be on Threat Interception Team-Juliet, that's TIT-Juliet. You're titles will be Agent Withau, Agent Bell, and Agent Edwards, is that understood?"

"Loud and clear," I answered. "Where do we start, in Winona?" I asked.

"Well, those woods outside are pretty infested, why don't you start there?" McKinley said. There was a wooded area right outside of the school, used for the outdoor classroom and science-based stuff. Stuff that I never paid any attention to.

"Okay, works for me," I said, getting to my feet. Taylor and Erin both got to their feet as well, and we all walked out of the building. When we were out of earshot from McKinley, I led them to the back of the school, and said, "Listen, go home; I don't need your help with this."

"Oh, what, you're gonna take a whole army by yourself?" Erin said skeptically.

"If I need to, I'll just call in some backup from the Leaf, they'll be more than happy to help me," I answered.

"We're not going home, Matt," Taylor said stubbornly.

I thought about it for a moment, then said, "Alright, fine, but if things get too tough, I want you to run. I'm not gonna be the reason you two get killed."

"Works for me," Erin said.

"Okay," said Taylor.

The three of us headed towards the woods, away from school, to fight whatever came our way. I fully intended on fighting the Decepticloneswith everything I had, but my true goal here was to search for hints of Sasuke.


	78. Chapter 77: The Decepticlone Army

Two things:

First of all, due to changes in my work schedule, we're going back to Saturday post dates starting next week.

Second of all, I know the paragraphing for the first part of this chapter is wrong; I did that on purpose. You know how on two-part episodes of a television series, how on part two it'll begin with a main character saying "Previously", and then it'll go into a montage of what happened on the last episode? That's basically what that is, and I wanted it to be short and sweet. Hence the jacked up paragraphing.

* * *

THE DECEPTICLONE ARMY

_(Previously) _"Matt…where were you?" Jenny asked. "I got pneumonia." "Please tell me the truth." "Jenny, I can't." And Jenny got up and walked away.

I walked into the principal's office to find two girls sitting there; "Hey, Taylor. Hello, Erin." "DuBray Middle School is actually a cover; this is the headquarters of the SNIS, and I am its Director," McKinley said to us.

Ten photos popped up on the screen, making my mouth drop. "I…take it you know what we're dealing with here?" McKinley asked me. "That's the Decepticlone Army," I answered. "One of my missions in the Leaf involved retrieving documents on some enemy personnel."

"I'm giving the three of you our most basic blasters," McKinley said. I fired mine and the blast caused a scorch mark in the wall. "The Decepticlones are after extraterrestrial artifacts known as Mini-Cons." A video popped up of a huge ship, out of which shot hundreds of yellow beams all across the Earth's surface. The ship then exploded, and the camera came to an even bigger ship, which shot and destroyed the satellite.

"The Decepticlones invaded the planet in search of the Mini-Cons, they've already destroyed dozens of tiny towns across the United States alone," McKinley told us. Another video popped up of a news report talking about the destruction of Winona, Kansas, and how it wasn't the only one.

"Those woods outside are pretty infested, why don't you start there?" McKinley said to us. Taylor, Erin and I got up and left the building, and I pulled them to the back. "Listen, go home, I don't need your help with this," I said to them. "We're not going home, Matt," Taylor said. I finally agreed, and we set off to the woods to hunt them down.

_(Currently)_ My cousins and I walked through the woods outside the school, but I never realized how big they were until now. It felt like we had been walking for an hour before the fun finally began. We all hid behind some trees, and peered out at a small robot walking around. It was about five feet tall and entirely pink except for a green core compartment on its chest.

"Well, let's see how well you pan out," I whispered, smiling at Taylor and Erin.

After a moment of staring at me, Erin said, "Wait, what?"

"Go on," I said, gesturing to the Decepticlone. They both stared at me with their mouths half-open. "Come on, if you're gonna help me, you at least have to be adequate in fighting," I said to them, fighting the urge to crack up at their expressions.

"O…kay?" Erin said, still seemingly in shock. She aimed her blaster at the little robot, but it noticed her, jumping in shock. The moment it did, Erin fired a shot, landing it right in its core chamber and knocking it off its feet. Taylor fired the second shot, landing it in the robots leg, and Erin followed up with a shot that landed square between the eyes. The robot fell motionless, and I looked at Erin, having never realized that she had practice with firing a weapon. I walked over and kneeled down to examine the robot to make sure it was actually dead. I reached to my upper leg, but my face fell as I felt around the side of it.

"What's wrong?" Erin asked me.

"I forgot my weapons," I answered, standing back up. I turned to them and said, "I'm gonna go back and get them. If this thing gets back up, you blow it to pieces. If anything else comes out, you hide, understand?"

"Okay, but how long do you think you'll be gone?" Taylor asked me with a frightened expression.

"About ten seconds," I answered, making a hand sign. I activated a _Teleportation Jutsu_, instantly appearing out in my bedroom. I grabbed my kunai and shuriken, along with a backpack filled with other supplies, then made the same hand sign, and one more _Teleportation Jutsu_ later, I was back with Taylor and Erin.

"That didn't take long," Erin said, while Taylor looked relieved.

"Alright, let's get going," I said, and we left the dead robot laying on the ground and dove deeper into the woods. As we were walking, a bright-blue blast flew by my nose and landed in a tree, making me stop cold. I looked over and saw a robot a little bit bigger than the other one, that was yellow and black with one green eye going across its face. The robot was kneeled down to the ground with its arm pointing at us, which was tipped with a blaster. "I got this," I said, pulling out a kunai and walking towards the robot. It fired several blasts at me as I came closer, all of which I blocked with my knife, and when I got to it, I stuck the knife in its chest, then wrapped my hand around its throat and lifted it into the air. I wrenched the kunai out of its chest and swiped it across its head, cutting most of it off, which crashed to the ground.

I dropped its body and let it fall to the ground as well, rather impressed by how easy that was. Two more blasts hit the ground and a tree coming from behind me, and I turned around and saw three of the pink robots we saw before. Taylor and Erin both had their hands in the air in surrender, with two robots pointing blasters at them, while the third was pointing its blaster at me. I considered the situation for a moment, then rose my hands in the air in surrender as well, knowing that if I fought back, they would shoot my cousins. After I rose my hands, the robots shot both of my cousins in the chest, knocking them both to the ground.

"Oh, you screwed up," I said angrily, reaching into my back pocket. I threw a shuriken at each of the two robots, landing them both in either the chest or the stomach and knocking them both over. I walked towards the third and final robot, who started firing at me, but I pulled out a kunai and blocked them all. I cut his head off, then walked over to each of the other two robots and did the same thing to them, then pocketed the shuriken embedded in their bodies. The instant that was done, I ran over to each of my cousins to check if they were okay. The wounds from the blasts were bleeding like gunshot wounds, although they didn't seem to have done quite the damage.

I reached into my shuriken holster and pulled out a tiny vile of green liquid, then opened up Taylor's mouth. I poured a tiny drop of the liquid down her throat, and her wound instantly became surrounded in green chakra. After a few seconds, the chakra faded, and the wound was gone, just a bloodstain. I did the same thing for Erin, and bore the same results. They both rose to sitting positions, rubbing their heads from when they hit the ground. I had visited the Leaf a few times since the Sasuke mission, and on one of those visits, my last one in fact, Tsunade held me in her office. She gave me a vile of green liquid and told me it was a special potion mixed with her own chakra.

Since I didn't know medical ninjutsu, she gave me about half a dozen of these, which could heal any injury, and provide a chakra boost to shinobi as well. The amount of liquid needed depended upon the magnitude of the injury in question. A whole vile of this stuff could re-grow a severed hand, whilst two of them could re-grow an arm or a leg. Unfortunately, Tsunade hadn't quite figured out how to bring back the dead, but she was ever-constantly working on it. I waited for them to get back to their feet, and we all continued forward. After a few more minutes of walking, I stopped them both, throwing them both behind trees and quickly following suit.

I peered out from behind the trees at a squad of four of the pink robots, and then one of the yellow and black ones. None of them had noticed us, so I prepared for a sneak attack when a blast hit the tree right next to my head. I looked around and saw a squad of three of the pink robots, walking towards us and aiming their blasters. I looked back at the other ones and saw that they had heard the blast, as the pink robots were walking towards us while the yellow and black was running in the opposite direction, probably going for back-up. We were about to have a whole lot of fight on our hands. I made a hand sign and conjured two _Shadow Clones_, to which I said, "Get these two out of here!"

Taylor and Erin made no protests as the four of them ran off, leaving me to deal with the seven robots that had reinforcements on the way. I pulled out two kunai and leaped into the air to avoid blasts from the second squad, and I dived down on top of the first one. They all fired up at me, but I blocked their blasts, and when I landed, I slashed two of them, one of which I grabbed and threw into a third, and I attacked the fourth one, cutting it in half. I threw both my kunai behind me and landed them each into a robot, and I spun around and threw a shuriken at the third, which dropped to the ground along with the rest. I ducked two blasts from behind me and saw the yellow and black robot from before, along with another yellow and black and four pink robots.

I rolled across the ground to avoid the barrage of blasts they fired at me, but I wasn't quick enough as they landed two into my left arm, knocking me down into a sitting position. I aimed my own blaster at them and fired, quickly taking out two pink robots, but then took another barrage of blasts, one of which landed in my leg. I finally breathed through the pain in my arm, made some hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a humongous ball of fire out of my mouth at the robots, all of which were incinerated, except for one of the yellow and black ones, who had dived out of the way. He got back to his feet, and I fired a blast into his collar, knocking him down into a sitting position.

He fired three more blasts at me, one of which landed in my chest, nearly knocking me out. Four blasts came out from behind me, all hitting the robot and knocking it to the ground. I breathed through the pain and got to my feet, walked over, and cut the robot's head off. Taylor and Erin ran over to me to see if I was okay, and I assured them that I was, and that I didn't need the medicine Tsunade gave me. There was blood all over me, but honestly, I've been through worse. For those of you who have ever been hit by a _Chidori_, you know what I mean. "Alright, let's keep going," I said, spitting out blood onto the ground.

Before we had even continued walking, the roar of an engine sounded in the distance, and I sighed, "What now?" As we watched, a huge ship, big enough to carry a dozen people in it, flew up over the trees and hovered above a point a few feet away. The sides on the ship opened up, and out dropped six of the yellow and black robots, all pointing their blasters at us. The doors on the ship closed and it flew off, leaving us all alone with these guys. We all raised our hands in surrender, and I knew we had just failed this mission.


	79. Chapter 78: Ambush

AMBUSH

"What now?" A huge ship flew above the trees, and the sides of it opened up. Six yellow and black robots jumped out of the ship and surrounded us, all pointing there blasters at us as the ship flew off. I began to wonder if we were in over our heads with this as we raised our hands in surrender and waited for the robots to kill us. All of the robots came to us in twos, one pushing us to our knees while the other prepared to execute us. Before they fired, both Taylor and Erin disappeared in puffs of smoke, leaving the robots, and even me, in shock. Dozens of blasts rained out from behind me, all knocking the robots off their feet, but only killing one. I got on top of the one that had been holding me and buried my fist in its face, leaving it lying motionless.

I got to my feet and finished two of them while Taylor and Erin took the other three. I began to wonder what happened, but then immediately figured it out. The clones I had used to protect my cousins had used a _Transformation Jutsu_ to turn into them, and throw the robots off to make way for an ambush by the real Taylor and Erin. They both helped me to my feet and I wiped the dirt off my legs, and we continued onward. At first, I had regretted bringing the two of them with me, but after just now, I realized they had their uses after all: saving my life. As we kept walking, I flashed back to when I had retrieved that document on these guys; it had included photos of each of the different types of robots, and their names.

The pink robots were called 'light units', and the yellow and black robots were called 'medium units'. As we continued to walk, we saw a single light unit patrolling a tiny clearing in the woods, although what it was doing completely alone was beyond me. I fired a couple shots at it, and it fell over, its head rolling away. What I hadn't realized was that the moment I fired, two medium units came over a hill about twenty feet away and saw the light unit get hit, and now one came down to see what was going on while the other ran for backup.

"Fantastic. You two stay here," I said to Taylor and Erin as I walked off to face the medium unit. I hit it with three blasts, knocking it to the ground, but not killing it. I prepared to fire the final shot when a blast hit my arm, spattering blood all over the place. I looked and saw the other medium unit along with a squad of six light units. I looked back at the other medium unit and saw it was getting back to its feet, despite all the holes in it. I landed one final blast into the damaged medium unit's head, sending it flying off, and then got out of the way of the barrage of blasts coming from the other robots.

I fired my blaster at them, hitting two light units but not killing anything. I kept running from blasts, thankful they weren't homers, and I took every chance I could get to fire back. I managed to take out three light units, while severely tearing apart the others. Just when I thought I had this fight won, a blast came from out of nowhere and landed right in my chest, knocking me clear off my feet and sending me crashing to the ground. My shirt had already been stained from the other fight, but now, it was drenched with blood. Another medium unit ran over and pointed its blaster at me, while the other bots came over and pointed their blasters down at me as well.

I knew if I so much as moved, I would get killed, so I let the medium unit haul me to my feet, and then knock me down to my knees while the light units all pointed their blasters at me. I heard footsteps and looked around to see Taylor and Erin being escorted over by two more medium units. I didn't have clue one how I was going to get out of this, made even more so when the light units all cocked their blasters. Finally, I shot my leg out behind me, tripping up the medium unit, and immediately took two to the torso and one to the arm. I hit the ground with blood all over me, barely conscious, and I heard the other medium units fire their blasters, and Taylor and Erin hit the ground as well.

One of them took my blaster, and I looked around through dazed eyes at the decepticlones, who all pointed their blasters down at us. Just before they fired, the paper-bomb I placed on the blaster detonated, blowing apart the blaster, along with the four light-units nearest it, and also sending the rest of the robots crashing to the ground. I grabbed Erin's blaster and mounted it on my own wrist, finishing the rest of the robots, and opening up my wounds. I tried to stem the blood flow with my hands, but that didn't seem to work, so I broke down and took some of Tsunade's medicine, a drop leaving nothing but a few scars.

Taylor and Erin had both been hit in the back, so they insisted that they didn't need the medicine, and I really didn't want to argue, having only so much of it. I had expected my blaster to be obliterated by the paper-bomb, so I was very surprised when I found it still perfectly intact. I started to become distressed as I realized that if there were this many decepticlones infesting the woods outside the school alone, how many were we going to encounter in other parts of Missouri. Certainly we weren't the only ones fighting these things. McKinley must have deployed other squads to other parts of the country to help out, right? I sincerely hoped so as we kept walking, keeping our eyes peeled for an ambush.

We came across a squad of five light units led by a medium unit, walking through the woods like a military platoon. We waited for them to pass, and then aimed our blasters at them, but then the roar of an engine sounded, and I looked around at another ship, flying above the trees, and hovering above a point some twenty-five feet away. Three medium units hopped out followed by six light units, and they all pointed their blasters at us, preparing to fire. I turned around and saw that the squad we had been following before had heard the drop ship, and were now pointing their blasters at us as well. I was really starting to become sick of these ambushes, mainly because I had to worry about protecting Taylor and Erin, and I conjured three _Shadow Clones_ to protect them.

The decepticlones focused on me, seeming to realize that I was the bigger threat. I dodged dozens of blasts at a time, not being able to get a chance to fire my own blaster, until finally, shots rained out from Taylor and Erin, taking out three light units in the squad we had been tailing, and making the remaining members of the squad focus on them. My _Shadow Clones_ fired their own blasters, which were replicated from mine with the jutsu, and after a few seconds, the entire squad was down. With some of the fire off me, I finally found time to fire my own blaster, helped by four light units turning their aim on Taylor, Erin, and my clones.

I fired my blaster, managing to take out the two light units firing at me, but I had to dive out of the way of a shot from the medium unit. I got back to my feet and took him out, then prepared to go and help the others. One of my clones took a hit to the left arm and left leg, making it crash to the ground and disappear, while the other clone, along with Taylor and Erin, kept firing at the remaining light unit. Finally, the light unit got blasted apart and fell to the ground, while my cousins and my clone walked over. "I think I'll keep you out in case I need some more backup," I said to the clone.

"Or, you could let us do what we came here to do, and fight," Erin suggested with a trace of anger in her voice.

I had to admit, if the shoe was on the other foot, I would be pretty irritated too; plus, they saved my life plenty of times, it's not like they were helpless. "Alright, fine, but be careful," I said to them, almost immediately regretting that decision. We continued walking, keeping our eyes and ears open, but we went for about five minutes without encountering so much as a squirrel. Finally, we came to a residential area on Oak Hill Lane. It seemed eerily quiet; there weren't any people anywhere. It was like a ghost town. I readied my blaster and walked quietly down the street, followed by Taylor and Erin.

I looked around for any signs of life, rather natural or artificial, and I came to a house with the front door hanging off its hinges. I crept quietly towards the house, my cousins following closely behind, and I got beside the door and prepared to go in. "You ready?" I whispered to them, and they both nodded. I flung myself around the door, my blaster ready, and, seeing nothing, I made way for Taylor and Erin to come in, however, they did not have their blasters ready. I gestured to Taylor to search the rest of this level while Erin and I went upstairs. We crept down the hallway, searching the rooms along it, until we finally came to an office room with a light unit searching a desk, its back to us.

I gestured to Erin to get on the other side of the door, which she did, and we prepared to take it out. We stepped into the room and each fired a single shot, which both hit the light unit in the back and knocked it into the desk. I fired two more shots into it, and it fell to the floor in a slump, its eye having gone dark, signaling it was dead. I fired one last shot into its face, just to make sure, then I turned to Erin, and we both prepared to go check on Taylor. A bone-shivering scream echoed throughout the house, and we both shot out of the room, tore down the hallway, and Erin ran down the stairs, while I leaped off of them into the living room. We both busted into a bedroom to find Taylor there, her hands over her mouth.

I looked down at the floor to see what had freaked her out, and saw a woman on the ground, blood drenching her clothes, and her eyes staring blankly. I bent down next to her and checked her pulse, felt nothing, and confirmed she was dead. I stood up and saw Erin comforting Taylor, who was still in shock. This was their first dead body, whereas it was my tenth or so, although none of the dead people I had seen were ever just normal civilians. The three of us exited the house, Erin still comforting Taylor, when we heard a huge bang in the distance. After a moment, Taylor, seemingly over her shock, said, "What was that?"

"Something big," I said, listening for the sound again. It sounded several more times, and I realized they were footsteps. A house across the street exploded, sending burning wood fifty feet into the air, and raining across the ground all over the place. Breaking through the rubble of the destroyed house was a huge robot, ten feet tall, with huge feet disproportional to its body, a blaster for a hand, and two rocket packs on its shoulders.


	80. Chapter 79: The Heavy Unit

THE HEAVY UNIT

A building across the street exploded, and out of the rubble smashed a huge robot, ten feet tall, with huge feet disproportional to its body, a blaster for a hand, and twin rocket packs on each shoulder. Well, if anything, I could just use a _Chidori_ on it. "Stay out of this," I said to Taylor and Erin as I approached the robot. They both backed up without another word, and I pointed my blaster at the robot. The moment I did, the robot fired his blaster at me, and he fired a lot quicker than the light units and medium units. I had to floor it to get out of the way of the blasts, but the heavy unit was a lot smarter than the others, anticipating where I was going to run, and firing there as well.

Every time I tried to aim my blaster, he'd fire a shot at me, and I would have to dive out of the way. Finally, I disappeared in a burst of speed and came around behind him, my blaster aimed at his head. He rose his foot up and slammed it back down onto the ground, creating a shockwave that cracked the ground and sent me flying through the air, smashing into the burning building. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu out of the building at him, and he took it head-on, but when the flames cleared, he didn't have a scratch. The rocket packs on his shoulders opened up, and a rocket fired out of each of them at me.

The rockets smashed into the building, making the frame, which was about all that was left, collapse down on top of me. I heard Taylor scream, although I didn't know what Erin was doing, but I burst out of the smoke and dust with a _Chidori_, charging straight at the robot. He fired a few blasts at me, but I super-sped out of the way and came out behind him with _Chidori_. I was in the air to avoid another shockwave from the robot's feet, but the top half of his body spun around, independent of the legs and feet, and he slammed me in the stomach, making my _Chidori_ sever his arm just before I went flying. I went tumbling across the ground, and before I was even back on my feet, the robot fired another pair of rockets at me.

I tried to barrel-roll out of the way of them, but they turned out to be homing missiles, and both hit me head-on, exploding across my entire body and sending me sliding back with blood pouring out of my mouth. The smoke on my torso cleared to reveal a set of nasty burns going across my chest. The robot didn't even wait to see if I was going to get back up before he started firing at me with his blaster, and I rolled out of the way of the blasts, then got back to my feet and super-sped into the air, dropping back down behind the robot. While I was still in the air, his missile packs opened up and fired two missiles at me, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_"

Two of the fireballs intercepted and detonated the missiles while the rest rained down on top of the robot, and this time, it punched tiny holes all around its metal armor. The robot seemed to be too damaged to move properly, so I activated a _Chidori_ and came down on top of the robot with it, cleaving it in two. The two halves fell to the ground, and I jumped back right before they exploded, sending shrapnel flying five feet away. I made some hand signs and activated a _Palm Healing Jutsu_ to heal my injuries from fighting the robot. After a few seconds, I was all healed up, but my shirt had become a jacket compliments of the missiles that hit me square in the chest. I took off my backpack and unzipped it, dug through it, and pulled out a fresh t-shirt, taking off my old one and replacing it with the new one.

"Alright, you ready to go?" I asked Taylor and Erin. Just as they were about to answer, two ships rose above the buildings and hovered over the street on either side of us. "There is absolutely no way this is a coincidence, they had this set up to eliminate whatever got past the big guy," I said, watching the ships dismount six medium units each. "Move!" I ran one way, Taylor and Erin ran the other, and we both fired at the medium units, myself taking one half, Taylor and Erin taking the other. I managed to take out one of them, and then severely damage, but not kill, two more before I started to get overrun. I was really starting to wish I had a shield, but then I looked down at all the buttons on my blaster and began to wonder.

I didn't have a chance to check right now, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Shield!_" I slammed my fist onto the ground, and a section of the dirt rose up in front of me in a huge wall to block the blasts. I knew the shield would only last so long with the blasts slowly eating away at it, so I formed a _Rasengan_ in my hand and super-sped out from behind the shield, taking out two of the medium units with one swipe. I blasted away at the last three, taking them all out, and I turned around to check on Taylor and Erin. They had already taken out all of their robots, and had been waiting on me. I felt my self go red as I saw the irony at two rookies with nothing but a blaster having taken down the same number of enemies as me, except more quickly, and I had all my jutsu, which made it even more embarrassing.

Regardless, they had drawn half the fire off of me, which I was definitely grateful for. "Okay, what next?" Erin asked, as we all looked around for anymore decepticlones. After not finding anything, we proceeded through the neighborhood, once again keeping our eyes and ears open for ambushes. As we continued walking, I stopped Taylor and Erin as a tiny spherical drone hovered out from the side of a building, with a single blaster pointing forward. It stopped and hovered in place, and a red laser shot out from its blaster pointing forward, but it didn't seem offensive, as it hit buildings and trees, but passed over them without doing a thing. We let the laser pass over us, for what reason, I don't know, but the moment it hit Erin, an alarm blared from the drone, making us all jump in surprise.

The laser disappeared and the blaster it emanated from moved from its current position to pointing straight up into the air. A fireball fired out of the blaster, straight up into the air, and it flew all the way above the rooftops before exploding. The alarm on the robot continued to blare, and it flew around in random directions, firing tiny blasts at us, and keeping itself out of our fire. Finally, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired a single fireball out of my mouth at the drone, but the drone dodged it, and the fireball flew by, then veered upwards, and came down on top of the drone, destroying it and making it crash to the ground. We looked up and saw a ship hovering over the scene, and out of the ship dropped three medium units and nine light units, all of which pointed their blasters at us and immediately started firing.

Taylor and Erin tried to fire, then ran, and Erin was shot in the back twice, while Taylor was shot once in the back, and once in the leg, both of them being knocked to the ground. With them on the ground, all of the decepticlones focused their fire on me, although I had already taken down about half the light units, and knocked a medium unit off its feet. I strafed out of the way of shots, stopping and moving back out of the way of the ones that would hit me, and was really glad these robots didn't have pinpoint aim. I took out two more light units, and finished the medium unit I damaged, before the decepticlones' aim suddenly improved, and I had to dive out of the way of a barrage of blasts that would have mauled me. At first, I focused on one robot at a time, but, seeing that wouldn't work, I fired at each of them in turn, knocking them all off their feet.

Finally, I was able to take them all out, and I immediately ran over to Taylor and Erin to see if they were okay. I sat them up, offered Tsunade's medicine, but they once more refused it, reminding me that I only had so much. I still couldn't argue with them, so I made sure they were okay, thoroughly checking their wounds to see how bad they were. Thankfully, they were just really bloody, but they weren't very deep. "Well, they'll heal, but Taylor, you're gonna have to stay off that leg for at least a day before you can walk on it," I told her.

"Okay, so what, we just stay here, out in the open for the decepticlones to come and kill us?" Erin asked with a skeptic look.

"No, we use any one of the hundred houses surrounding us for cover," I answered irritably.

"Oh. I guess that's a good plan," she said.

With that, we walked Taylor to the nearest building, Erin and I checked it for decepticlones, and we sat down on the couch and turned on the television. I let Taylor and Erin fight over what channel it was on while I raided the food cabinet and found stuff to make lasagna. I put it in the oven and waited in the kitchen, not really feeling up to watching Glee, when I heard a noise from behind me and looked.

"Get out of my house!" A lady flew at me with a baseball bat, and I dived out of the way, making her fly into the counter and punch a dent in it with the bat.

"Hold on!" I said, as she turned around and came at me again. I pulled out a kunai to defend myself, but since the bat was made of metal, and not wood, defend myself was all I could do. Finally, she knocked the kunai out of my hand, nearly breaking my hand in the process, and she swung it again, landing it in my cheek, making blood stream out of my nose and mouth and knocking me to the ground. The woman raised the bat up, but a blast hit it and it went flying out of her hand, making her look up at Erin, who was pointing her blaster at the woman.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my house!?" the woman yelled, and I noticed there were tears in her eyes.

"Call us war refugees," Erin said, her blaster still pointing at the woman.

"I'm Agent Withau, this is Agent Bell, and Agent Edwards," I said, gesturing to each of my cousins respectively.

"Of what agency?" the woman asked, still suspicious.

"SNIS," I answered, really wishing McKinley had given us badges or something.

"Never heard of it, do you have a badge?" the women asked, making me curse myself.

"No, we don't, but we've been fighting these things," I assured her. She looked at my injuries, and her face fell to a depressed expression.

"I believe you," she said. "Those wounds are from the blasters on those robots."

"How do you know that?" I asked, staring at her suspiciously.

"Follow me," she said, and she walked over and climbed a staircase. Erin and I followed her up and into a bedroom, which appeared perfectly normal, until she showed us what was behind the bed. My jaw fell slightly ajar, and Erin gasped and put her hands over her mouth. Laying there were two bodies, one of a grown man, and the other of a small child, both spattered with blood. I looked at the injuries and saw they were the same as ours, although there were a lot more of them.

"What happened?" I asked the woman.

"The same thing that happened to Winona, and all those other towns. Those robots came in and attacked from out of nowhere, slaughtering all of the neighborhood's residents. The only reason I survived was because I was at the grocery store, picking up food for the family. When I came back…I found this in my living room," she gestured to the corpses on the floor.

"What about the rest of St. Peters?" I asked.

"I don't know, I think we were the only ones attacked, but I can't know for sure. It happened at about one o'clock this morning, when everyone was still sleeping. I couldn't sleep and needed something to do, so I decided to look for the day's breakfast. Some tried to fight, but they were just too strong," she finished the last part with a shaky voice.

"How many of them were there?" I asked.

"Six," she answered. "Five little yellow and black robots, then one really big one. That one was the most trouble."

I figured she had to be talking about the one that I killed earlier, after it nearly killing me about five times, the name of said robot, as I remembered, being a heavy unit. "Well, your attackers are dead now, so, you don't have to worry anymore," I told her, although I knew her life would never be the same.

"Oh, thank you," she said, looking sadly down at her family. Just then, the timer for the oven went off from downstairs, and I walked down and took out the lasagna. Taylor and Erin came in, looked at it, and their faces fell to a disgusted grimace.

"What? It's lasagna," I said, looking at it, and seeing nothing wrong.

"I hate lasagna," Erin said.

"Yeah, it's disgusting," Taylor confirmed. I looked at them both in turn, wondering if they were crazy.

"Well then, go make some ravioli or something," I told them, and they both walked off. I looked at the woman, and became embarrassed at us just coming in and raiding her house.

"It's okay," she said when she saw my face.

"Well…care to help?" I said, taking out a knife and cutting the lasagna. After we were done, the owner of the house showed us to some bedrooms for the night. After a few hours, I went to sleep, thinking about all the things we had went through in just a single day, and all the things we were going to go through.


	81. Chapter 80: The First Mini-Con

How does everyone like the new direction the story is taking so far? Do you think it's better or worse than before? About the same? Comment with thoughts and suggesstions; I'm always open to constructive criticism.

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THE FIRST MINI-CON

I woke up the next morning, waited for Taylor and Erin to get up, and sat down for breakfast compliments of the owner of the house, whose name was Sarah McKinnon, and fed us French toast and bacon. In the middle of our breakfast, I heard something headed for the house, and before I even had time to react, the front wall of the house exploded, making Taylor, Erin, and Sarah shriek as a cloud of dust flew over us. I took Taylor and Erin and slammed them both onto the ground as five medium units ran in under the cover of the dust, saw Sarah, who was still screaming, and shot her, making her hit the ground in a pool of blood. I pulled out a kunai and waited for the medium units to walk by, and when one of them stepped near me, I swung my kunai, cutting its foot right off.

I got on top of it and stabbed it several times, then jumped out of the way as the other medium units saw me and fired at me. I landed on the ceiling and fired down at one of the medium units, killing it and sending it crashing to the ground. I looked around and saw shots rain up from the dust on the ground and take out another medium unit, who crashed to the ground as well. I turned around to face the giant hole in the house and saw a rocket coming at me from the rooftops across the street. I dropped off the roof and let the rocket hit the spot where I had been standing, sending rubble down on top of me. I then looked to see where the rocket had come from only to see five more coming at me, but they seemed to be aimed more at the building.

The rockets hit and blew out the remaining support to the house, making it come crashing down to the ground. When the rubble and dust cleared, I was surrounded in a dome of condensed air, protecting myself and my cousins from the wreckage. "_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" I kept the _Air Shield_ going until I saw what had fired those rockets, and saw five robots on the rooftops across the street. They were entirely silver, as tall as me, with a sword for a right arm, and a rocket pack in the same shoulder. If I remembered right, these were known as serges. After looking at them for a moment, I said, "Oh, boy." The instant those words left my mouth, two drop ships rose up above the serges and came down, hovering over the street. I disabled my _Air Shield_ and unloaded my blaster at one of them while Taylor and Erin took the other one.

Their armor was a lot stronger than I thought, as I must have hit it fifty times, and it only took a few dents. Taylor and Erin, with there being two of them, did considerably more damage, making the engine smoke and shudder. The drop ships dropped off a dozen light units each, who all formed a line and fired at us. "_Earth Style: Terra Shield!_" I formed a wall of earth from the ground, turned to Taylor and Erin, and said, "Erin, cover me, Taylor you stay out of this." I ran out from behind the wall, running out of the way of the blasts, and the serges each fired a rocket at the wall, knocking it down completely.

The light units focused their fire on me, which made room for Erin to take five of them out before they started to focus on her. The light units that diverted their attention from me allowed me the time to take three more of them out. One-by-one, Erin and I managed to take all but six of them out until the serges finally fired another barrage of rockets, not at me, but at Erin. All of the rockets hit her, blasting her into the air and making her slam into the rubble of the destroyed house, where she didn't get back up. I watched this all happen in horror, and when it was over, I made three hand signs and formed a _Chidori_.

I super-sped out of the way of the blasts from the light units, and came around and took them all out with the one _Chidori_, making them all fall to pieces. I looked up at the serges, then jumped out of the way of two rockets that they shot at me, and dived down on top of them with a _Rasengan_. I looked over and intercepted another rocket with the _Rasengan_, making me fly backwards, and land on the ground. The instant I hit the ground, I leaped back up at them, trying to give them no time to counterattack. The one I came at swung its sword, but I blocked it with a kunai and landed on the roof, fighting to overpower it. I jumped straight up into the air to avoid another serge who had jumped at me from behind, and just barely kept from attacking his partner.

I dropped down and landed on a roof, with all five of the serges in front of me, all braced to charge. Several blasts hit one of them, and we all looked over to see Taylor, sitting on the ground, pointing her blaster at the serges. "No, what's the matter with you!? I told you to stay out of it!" I yelled down at her, disbelieving that she would do that. Two of the serges fired rockets down at her, but her leg prevented her from moving, so she took them both and was sent flying, landing next to Erin. "_Rasengan!_" I slammed my jutsu into one of the serges' chest, tearing him apart and sending the rest of him spiraling away. The rest of them took the opportunity to fire rockets at me.

I jumped off the building to avoid the rockets, and they all flew off into the horizon. While still dropping, I threw a barrage of kunai up at all the serges, and the paper-bombs on all of the kunai exploded, sending three houses crashing to the ground. I landed on the ground and jumped out of the way of the cloud of smoke and dust, hoping the serges were all dead. When the cloud cleared, two were dead, one's leg was smashed, and the last one was still standing, but badly damaged. The one with the smashed leg fired a rocket at me, but I sidestepped it, and it flew into a building across the street.

The one that was still standing couldn't jump at me, so he limped slowly towards me, his sword-arm raised. I grabbed the arm and twisted it, using all my strength to tear it off, and then throw the sword at the one on the ground, making it drop for good. I backhanded the final serge in the face, knocking it off its feet. I raised my blaster and fired three shots in the core compartment on its chest, then one more into its face. I did the same thing to the other two serges, just to make sure, and I then ran over to Taylor and Erin. They were both unconscious, and both had burns and shrapnel wounds from the rockets, meaning they were both bloody messes. I opened their mouths and put a drop of Tsunade's medicine down their throats, and the green chakra appeared around all of their wounds, but since there were so many, not very many of them were fully healed.

The burns were reduced down to mere scorch marks, and the shrapnel was ejected out of their bodies, while most of the wounds scabbed over. I checked Taylor's leg wound and saw it was just a scar, which made me very thankful. Both of them were still unconscious, which meant we would have to wait here until they woke up. As I sat on the ground and watched them, something came to me, and I conjured a couple _Shadow Clones_ to watch them. I ran over and hopped onto a rooftop next to the wreckage of the three I had destroyed with the paper-bombs, and saw a shallow crater, in the center of which, a bright yellow light glowed. A medium unit was bent down, examining said light, but he hadn't noticed me, so I aimed my blaster and landed one right in his head, making him drop to the ground with his head rolling away.

I dropped down from the building and walked over to the light, keeping an eye out for any traps. At first, I wondered what it was, but then I remembered McKinley's explanation of the Decepticlones' mission, and I realized exactly what it was. It was a Mini-Con. I walked closer to it and bent down next to it, and when I looked closer into the light, I saw some sort of shell. I reached into the light and touched the shell, and the instant I did, the light faded, and the shell opened up. "Hello," I said with surprise. A tiny robot sat in the shell. He was mostly green with a little gray, and on his back, pointing forward, was a six-pack rocket launcher, which I was hoping I wasn't about to get shot with.

"Okay, so the Mini-Cons are actually allies, I can live with that," I said as the robot stood up and jumped off the shell. He approached me and held his hand out, and after a moment's hesitation, I put my own hand on top of it. The instant I did, the robot jumped into the air, and the parts of his body began to move in ways they weren't supposed to. He was transforming, and when he was done, he was a tiny ship, the rocket launcher acting as a forward thruster. "Okay, what happens next?" I asked, not expecting an answer. The ship flew over and landed on my arm on top of my blaster, and latches came down across my wrist, securing it into place. I looked at it to figure out how to fire, and when I couldn't find the trigger, the robot's legs jerked forward, like a trigger, and two twin rockets fired out of the launcher.

The rockets spiraled together and hit a building, blowing half of it apart and leaving the other half barely standing. "Okay, so just jerk the legs forward, and we get rockets, makes sense," I said to myself, very proud of my Mini-Con. I walked back to Taylor and Erin to find them both awake, sitting back-to-back, and both my _Shadow Clones_ gone. Two serges held their swords at my cousins' throats, my cousins shaking with fear. I studied the situation for a few seconds, then raised my hands in surrender, thinking of a way out of this. One of the serges nodded in my direction, and the other serge walked over, probably to bring me to the crew. When the serge was ten feet away, Erin fired three rounds right in their captor's face, making it stumble back, but not die, and both Taylor and Erin got up and backed away, firing at it the whole time.

The other serge turned around to see what was going on, but I jerked the legs of the Mini-Con on my arm, and a pair of twin rockets fired out of the launcher, hitting the serge in the back, but only making him double over slightly. He turned to me and fired a rocket at me, but I rolled out of the way and fired a pair of my own rockets at him. He rolled out of the way, then ran at me. I tried to fire another rocket at it, but the launcher clicked, meaning it was out of ammo. "Oh, Jesus Christ," I said, and the serge ran at me and leaped, his sword raised. I dived out of the way and the serge landed, then turned to me and fired a rocket at me. I was still on the ground, meaning I wasn't able to do anything about it, and it hit me in the back, sending me rolling across the ground with burns in my back.

The serge walked towards me, but then was blasted by a barrage of bullets, making it turn around and look at Taylor and Erin. Out of pure instinct, I raised the rocket launcher, pulled the trigger, and a pair of twin rockets shot out of it, hitting the serge in the back, and putting it on its knees. "_Chidori!_" I ran at the serge with the surge of lightning in my hand, and when I got to the serge, I tore the _Chidori_ through its side and brought it through the opposite shoulder, tearing the serge to pieces. When I was done, Taylor and Erin walked over to me, looking very proud of themselves. When they got to me, I heard the roar of an engine, but this was different from a drop ship; this was a lot louder.

We looked over and saw a jet coming in from about a mile away, and coming in fast. "This cannot be good," I said, not knowing just how right I was. The jet came within fifty feet at us and fired a barrage of missiles at us that hit the ground in a broad line, causing a huge explosion that covered a thirty-foot area. I set my cousins down fifty feet away from the explosion and turned to the jet, who was ten feet off the ground when he transformed, in the same manner as the Mini-Con, parts moving in ways they shouldn't have otherwise. The jet slammed into the ground on its legs as a seven-foot-tall robot, mostly humanoid in shape, like all the decepticlones. The differences being that the wings of the jet were pointing out to either side of it from its shoulders.

Also, the forward thrusters were in between the wings and the robot's head, pointing backwards, and a little upward, with the nose of the jet on the robot's torso and pointing down. "I'll be taking that Mini-Con now," the robot said with a smile.


	82. Chapter 81: Starscream

This chapter should give you an idea of what to expect in the story from here on out.

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STARSCREAM

"Who are you?" I asked, my rocket launcher pointed at the robot.

"I am Starscream of the Decepticons, creators of the Decepticlone Army," he answered with a smile. "Now then, why don't you give me that Mini-Con, and instead of killing you, I'll just take the three of you hostage," Starscream suggested.

"How 'bout not," I said, and I fired the rocket launcher, sending two rockets spiraling at Starscream.

"Your funeral," he said, and he activated jet thrusters on the bottoms of his feet and slid across the ground out of the way of the rockets. He charged me with his fists raised, and I had planned to take him head-on, but since I was two feet shorter than him, I figured that might not be such a great idea. I dived out of the way, and he flew past, going for Taylor and Erin instead. They fired their blasters at him, but when the blasts didn't do anything, they dived out of the way as well, letting Starscream fly past. Starscream spun around and skidded to a halt, then raised his arm at me and fired a blast from his wrist. I didn't have time to think as the blast hit me in the stomach and exploded, sending me flying back and rolling across the ground.

I pulled out a kunai and buried it into the ground, using it to stop myself, then I charged Starscream, hoping the kunai would work. He just stood there as I swung the kunai, but the blade broke off as it hit his arm, and he landed his opposite fist in my stomach, making me drop to my knees with blood dripping out of my mouth. Taylor and Erin fired their blasters at him from behind, but he merely turned around to face them, utterly annoyed, then pointed the blaster on his wrist at them and blew them both away. "_Rasengan!_" I landed my jutsu in his back, but he was too heavy for it to do much damage, so he went tumbling across the ground five feet away with a dent in his armor.

He fired his blaster at me, but I dived out of the way, and he charged me while I was still on the ground. I rolled out of the way of his fist, which he embedded in the ground, then wrenched it out and kicked me in the stomach, sending me rolling away. I got back to my feet, hunched over, with my hand clutching my stomach, waiting for him to attack again. I didn't know where this guy had come from, but he was definitely a lot stronger than the Decepticlones. He had said he was a member of the Decepticons, whatever that was, but he said they were the creators of the Decepticlones, and I had to guess there were more Decepticons out there.

This did not bode well for me, especially if I had a lot of trouble bringing this one down. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu out at Starscream, who let it hit him, but wasn't harmed. I appeared behind him with another _Rasengan_ ready, but he spun around and landed his foot in my stomach, sending me flying back and rolling across the ground.

"Come on, kid, is that really the best you got?" Starscream taunted me, but what I didn't want to tell him was that that was indeed the best I had.

I made three hand signs and formed a _Chidori_, which Starscream seemed to be very interested by. He reached up to one of the wings on his shoulders, and it popped off, allowing Starscream to grab the handle that had been attached to his shoulder, and swing the wing around, using it as a sword. I charged with _Chidori_, and Starscream prepared to intercept, but I super-sped around behind him, the _Chidori_ aimed at his back. Before I hit him, Starscream jumped up into the air and used the thrusters on his feet to keep him elevated. I threw a fire-kunai up at him, but he knocked it out of the air with his sword, and it exploded just out of range of him. He fired a blast down at me, but I rolled out of the way and made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired twenty tiny fireballs at him, but he flew out of the way of all of them, making them home in on him. A machine gun fired out of the jet nose on his chest, obliterating all of the fireballs and raining onto the ground. He was too high for me to jump, so I would just have to try to get him down by any means necessary. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired four medium-sized fireballs up at Starscream, but he flew out of the way, and they flew up into the air, but came back down on top of him, making him blast them. I only wished I could get him with a _Chidori_; that would take him out without a problem.

I aimed my rocket launcher at him and fired, but he flew out of the way of those as well, and since they weren't homers, they just flew up harmlessly into space. He fired several blasts down at me, but I jumped back out of the way, making each one punch a crater into the ground. Finally, he flew down at me with his sword raised, and I prepared to intercept him. I pulled out a kunai and held it out in front of me, and when he got within five feet of me, "_Rasengan!_" I blasted him with my jutsu, sending him through the air, and I then blasted him with my Mini-Con, making him hit the ground rolling, with tiny parts of him breaking off. He got up to a kneeling position while I pointed the Mini-Con at him again, and he stopped cold, looking down the barrels of the rocket-launcher.

"You ready to give up yet?" I asked with a smile.

"Not even close," he answered, and he charged me with his sword raised.

I immediately fired a pair of rockets at him, but he took them both and kept coming. I ducked his slash, and he swung his sword around and brought it down on top of me. I jumped back just before the sword hit me, and it got embedded into the ground, with Starscream struggling to pull it back up. I took the time to make some hand signs, but at that very instant, he managed to wrench his sword out of the ground and charge me. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu out at him, but he jumped out of the way, and dived down on top of me with his sword raised. I backed out of the way and he hit the ground, then wrenched his sword out and waited for me to attack. I pulled out a fire-kunai and threw it at him, but he jumped it, and it exploded against a tree.

I fired a pair of rockets up at him, and he fired two blasts down at them, making them both explode. I flashed back to some previous fights, examining what other people have done in the past, and immediately knew what I had to do. I conjured a single _Shadow Clone_ and it grabbed my arm with both its hands, and swung me around. After a few circles around itself, it launched me straight up in the air at Starscream, and I formed a _Chidori _in my hand. Starscream raised his sword to me, but I knew my _Chidori_ would cleave it in two. He met my _Chidori_ with his sword, and it held out at first, but then a crack formed in it, and it slowly started to break.

Starscream then blasted me with his wrist-blaster, knocking me out of the air, but I fired a pair of rockets up at him, which he intercepted with two blasts. I made a single hand sign, and a continuous burst of chakra shot out of my feet, allowing me to stay suspended in the air, and I shot straight back up at Starscream. "You're telling me you can fly, and yet you were having your clones throw you up here?" Starscream asked, appalled.

"Uh, yeah, I kinda forgot I could do that," I admitted shamefully. But then I prepared to come up at him.

"You never learn, kid, do you?" he said as he pointed his sword at me. When I got to him, he swung his sword, but I barrel-rolled around and behind him, leaving him there in shock.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my fireball out at him, but just like before, it hit him, and did absolutely nothing. He turned around and flew at me with his sword raised, and I met it with a _Rasengan_ that I didn't have enough time to focus my chakra into, so the sword cut right through it. "Gah!" I went flying back several feet, and just barely had time to duck Starscream's slash, which trimmed the tips of my hair. I made some hand signs, but he landed his foot in my stomach and sent me flying down and smashing into the ground. I got back to my feet and jumped back as Starscream came down and landed his sword in the ground where I had been.

I fired another pair of rockets at him, which finally hit him, and sent him skidding back, grunting in pain. "Finally!" I said as I charged to follow through. He had dropped his sword and was unarmed, which meant he was open for the taking, as I formed a _Rasengan_ and prepared to finish him. Before I got to him, he charged me and slammed into me, making me spit out blood and go flying back. I slowly got back to my feet, and Starscream was walking towards me with his sword raised, but a barrage of blasts hit him from behind. He turned around to look at Taylor and Erin, who were both pointing their blasters at him, and I fired a pair of rockets at him that put him on his knees.

"Gah! You little brats!" he said to us, looking back at me with a malicious look in his eye. I made three hand signs and formed a _Chidori_ in my hand, and bent low to the ground to better come at Starscream. He rose to his feet to try and counter me, and I charged head-on, my _Chidori_ tearing the ground apart. Starscream prepared to block me, but when I was within five feet of him, I disappeared in a burst of speed. "What!?" said Starscream in shock. I came out behind him with my _Chidori_ still in tact, and thrust it at his back. He tried to block me, but I ducked him and landed the _Chidori_ right into his side, then tore it across his stomach, nearly cleaving him in half.

He fell back and landed on the ground, pieces and parts of him scattered all over the place. I formed a final _Chidori_ to finish him with, but a drop ship rose up behind me and flew overhead. Out of the ship dropped a heavy unit, who immediately began firing at me. "Oh, joy," I said as I ran out of the way of the blasts. Taylor and Erin fired at the heavy unit, and he turned on them and began firing back. They both ran in opposite directions, and the heavy unit decided to go after Taylor, hitting her once in the leg, and twice in the side. She spat out blood and dropped to the ground, making Erin scream, "Taylor!"

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired a barrage of twenty fireballs at the heavy unit, but they all hit him and barely scorched him. He fired a pair of rockets at me, and I jumped into the air, with them hot on my trail. I fired a pair of rockets down at them, only managing to get one while the other continued its course. "_Fire Style: Dragon Dart!_" I fired a single medium-sized fireball out of my mouth down at the rocket, which engulfed and detonated it, dispersing the fireball. The heavy unit fired a hail of blasts up at me, but I back-flipped out of the way and landed on the ground. The heavy unit fired another pair of rockets at me, and I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Nova Flame!_"

I fired a wave of white-hot fire out of my mouth that ignited the grass from five inches in the air, and the heavy unit was too slow to dodge. The fire hit him head-on, and he exploded, parts of him raining all across the ground. During the few months between the Sasuke-Retrieval Mission and now, I had learned all the jutsu I possibly could, since I never knew when something was going to come up. Now that the heavy unit was dead, I turned around to look at Starscream, and saw that he was gone. "Great," I said, knowing we hadn't seen the last of him.


	83. Chapter 82: Mid Rivers Mall

From here on out, you're going to notice a subtle change in my writing style. Namely, the point-of-view changes. I'm not going to be changing views as often where it would technically be necessary to do so; instead, for the tiny sections of story that are just a few sentences long, I'm going to be telling what is happening from the current point of view. That does not necessarily mean that the character who has the point of view knows what's going on. You'll figure out what I mean in this chapter.

* * *

MID RIVERS MALL

I was still fuming about having let Starscream get away, while Taylor and Erin seemed to just be happy I was still alive. One other thing that bothered me was the part about him being a member of the '_Decepticons_'. I didn't know what that was, but it sounded like there was more than one, which meant we might possibly have an even bigger fight on our hands. I had resided back to wishing I had left Taylor and Erin back home, not wanting them to get hurt or worse. We were already well away from the school, however, which meant there was no turning back now. We turned from Southwood onto Mid Rivers Mall Drive, and Taylor and Erin both stopped.

"What is it?" I asked them.

After a few seconds, Erin said, "The mall isn't that far away from here."

Why did I not know that? We were on a mission to save the country, and the only thing these two cared about was shopping.

"Really?" I said to them. "Are you kidding me right now?"

"Uh, no," Erin said to me. "I need some new clothes."

"I know, we're a mess," Taylor said. I didn't bother telling them that whatever they bought was going to get dirty as well, seeing as how, as much as I hated to admit it, they were probably right. Our clothes were currently hanging in shreds and stained in blood from all our fights.

"Okay, let's head up there and buy some new clothes, and in the meantime, we can get some food too." They both agreed and we headed for the mall. About a half-hour later, we were there, and we walked inside to a ghost-town. There were plenty of cars outside in the parking lot, but there wasn't a soul in the building. It was like they had all been spooked away by something. And I had a feeling I knew what. Taylor and Erin had no complaints, as it meant free stuff, and went off to the nearest clothing shop. Meanwhile, I went to the Mid Rivers Diner and fried up some corndogs and French-fries for me to eat. I scarfed that and washed it down with a Dr. Pepper, and was then greeted by Taylor and Erin.

They were both wearing brand new clothes, and they both had expensive purses that were already probably loaded. "And you need those for what purpose?" I asked them irritably.

"Uh, to look good," Erin said to me.

"Well, anyway, you two eat, and I'm gonna go look for something else to wear," I said, and I got up and walked away. All in all, it was actually probably better that the place was deserted, as we didn't have to put up with people asking why we were a bunch of bloody messes. As I walked, I searched for any signs of movement, knowing that if I saw anything, it most likely wouldn't be good. I walked out of Dillard's, having switched from my black shirt and jeans to a white t-shirt and cargo shorts. I walked back over to the Diner to see that Taylor and Erin were gone. My eyes widened in horror as I looked around, looking for some sign of them.

I heard giggling from behind me and spun around to see the two of them in Claire's, looking at nail polish. I growled quietly as I stuffed my hands in my pockets and walked over to them. _What I wouldn't give for Naruto to be here right now,_ I thought to myself as I watched them rummaging through accessories. I almost told them to hurry it up, but then I said, "Alright, so what say we have some fun here, spend the night, and continue out in the morning?"

They both looked at me as if I had just landed from Mars, and Erin said, "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said with a smile. "It's just that we've nearly gotten killed ten times in the past two days, so I figure we might as well have some fun while we can."

"Oh…okay." said Taylor, but they both still looked at me with funny expressions.

I reached into my back pocket and said, "And since I don't feel like following you around all over the place, take this with you." I handed them a white ball about the size of the palm with the kanji for 'flash' written on it. "If you get attacked, slam this onto the ground, and I'll come running," I told them.

"Okay," said Erin.

"But what about you?" Taylor asked.

"Don't worry about me," I said as I turned around and walked off. I had been sincere in saying that I thought we should have some fun, but I wasn't about to let my guard down. There was something in here. And it was probably waiting to ambush us right now. As I walked away, the blurred form of something transparent moved along the wall, watching me, without my notice. Taylor and Erin resumed their shopping spree, completely oblivious to the transparent, blurred form watching them as well.

I walked into Sears and went over to the electronics department, grabbed an MP3 player, and opened it up. I plugged in and looked for something in the prerecorded music on there to listen to. I looked around for any signs of people in the store, and stopped cold at a puddle of red coming from the aisle ahead. I shimmied along the wall, listening for signs of movement, and when I heard nothing, I turned the corner. A man was laying there on the ground, covered in blood, his eyes open and staring blankly. Well, that confirmed it. There was something here (aside from the dead guy), and it had scared away all the customers and employees.

I bent down next to him to examine his wounds, and saw that they didn't seem to be from blasts. They were blunt-force trauma. This guy had been beaten to death. I felt the presence of someone or something and looked around, looking for anything out of the ordinary. I found nothing and decided to leave the store, seeing as how it would be easier for me to fight in the mall. As I left, something transparent moved along the wall, staring at me, waiting for the right time to attack. I kept my eyes and ears open for whatever was in the mall, along with signs of trouble in Taylor and Erin's direction. The mystery thing sneaked along the wall behind me, waiting for an opening.

[Erin's point-of-view] Taylor and I were in Macy's looking at jewelry, having absolutely no idea of the thing lurking behind us. Finally, it leaped at us, its forearms raised to strike, and I just happened to turn around and see it coming. "Get down!" I pushed Taylor to the ground as the thing smashed through the jewelry stand, sending necklaces, earrings, and bracelets clattering across the ground. We both got back to our feet as the thing, still transparent, but still visible due to the blurriness of its cloaking device, turned around and leaped at us. Taylor was knocked to the ground with the thing on top of her, which finally turned visible. It was a gray thing with enormous hands and feet, all roughly circular in shape and tipped with metal claws.

I tried firing a few blasts at it, but all it did was growl at me and then lower its head towards Taylor. I finally remembered, and took the white ball Matt gave me and slammed it on the ground. The moment it hit, it burst apart and released a blinding flash that made me shield my eyes.

[Matt's point-of-view] A flash of light radiated through the air towards the other side of the mall, and I prepared to go help them while the thing behind me raised its arms at me. I noticed it just in time and jumped out of the way just as a blast hit the ground where I had been standing and sent rubble flying. I landed on the ceiling and made some hand signs, looking down at the blurry form on the wall below me. Its cloaking shield ceased, revealing a gray robot on all fours, with hands and feet disproportional to its body, roughly circular-shaped and tipped with metal claws. It pointed its hands at me, and holes opened up on both, followed by both hands rotating at a dizzying speed.

I immediately knew what it was doing, and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu down at it at the exact same time it fired a blast out of each hand. I expected my fireball to obliterate the blasts, but the latter blasted right through the fireball, coming out completely unharmed. "Oh, Jesus," I said as the blasts came. They both hit me and exploded, blasting the ceiling apart and sending me crashing to the balcony. I was faintly reminded of Spider-Man as the robot went sailing over the balcony and landed on the wall. I got to my feet, hunched over on the ground, with the fingers on one hand spread out, and the other hand wrapped around the wrist. "_Chidori!_" When I cast the jutsu, instead of a surge of lightning emanating across my hand, I only managed a spark that immediately died.

"What the-!" I said, and the decepticlone immediately jumped down at me. I dived out of the way as it crashed into the ground, and then immediately got back to my feet and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I performed the jutsu just like I had done for the past year, but when I exhaled, nothing came out. "You've gotta be kidding me," I said as the decepticlone charged me. I pulled out a kunai, but the decepticlone knocked it out of my hand, then landed its oversized arm in my stomach, knocking me to the ground. The moment I hit, it landed on my chest, which felt like I had a panther on top of me.

[Taylor's point-of-view] Erin crashed through a jewelry rack while I backed up, shuddering in fear, pointing my blaster shakily at the thing. It walked towards me on all fours, looking at me like a tiger ready to eat. As it pounced, I fired a blast right between its eyes, but it kept coming as if nothing had happened, and tackled me to the ground. I tried shoving it off, but it was too heavy, and snarled at me with its face three inches from mine. Finally, I fired endlessly at it from my blaster, which did nothing but make it angry, and it stomped on my arm with its back leg, making me unable to do anything at all. I thought I was about to die, when a blast landed right in the side of the robot's head, blowing it off and making the robot fall limp on top of me. I pushed it off and looked over at my savior, and my eyes widened. It wasn't Erin.

[Matt's point-of-view] The robot flew clear off the balcony and smashed into the ground, and I was on my feet with my fist raised into the air, panting from the effort of knocking the robot off of me. The robot got back to its fours and leaped up, landing on the side of the balcony, and stuck there like a spider. I made some hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired the full-sized fireball out of my mouth, glad that it was working again, and it blew out the balcony, but when the smoke and dust cleared, there was no metal anywhere to be found. The robot crawled over the side of the balcony and landed on the ground, then stood on two feet and pointed its arms at me. I formed a _Chidori_ and charged the robot as its hands spun rapidly, preparing to fire.

The blast fired, and I intercepted it with _Chidori_, but the shockwave made me stop short, and I disappeared in a puff of smoke. "_Rasengan!_" I landed on top of the robot with my jutsu buried in the robot's shoulders, its head having been blown away. I shattered the robot into a million pieces, and the _Rasengan_ propelled me back into the air, making me land ten feet away. The moment my feet touched the ground, I ran off towards Taylor and Erin, ready to rip the other decepticlone in two. I slid outside the store they were in, and said, "Whoa!" Kneeling next to Erin, making sure she wasn't hurt, was Nichi Schroeder.


	84. Chapter 83: The New Recruit

THE NEW RECRUIT

"What are you doing here?" I asked her.

"I'm your backup," she answered with a smile.

After a moment of confused shock, I said, "My what?"

"Your backup," she repeated.

I went back into confused shock, and then finally said, "Who? Why? I don't need _backup!_"

"Mrs. McKinley sent me," she answered. "She explained the whole situation to me, and sent me after you to help you if you needed it. And apparently it's a good thing she did so, as you obviously needed help," she explained, still with her smile.

I had to admit, I couldn't deny that. If she hadn't have shown up when she did, Taylor and Erin probably would have been dead. "Well…I guess we'll have to see how you do," I said, really looking forward to the coming fights. "Alright, I'd say we've had enough fun here, you guys ready to move on?" I asked them, and they all nodded. "Alright. So we move out from here, and head up north. There's nothing but sparsely populated farmland there, which would make a good vantage point for a full-scale invasion against the city. We'll search twenty miles out from the town, and assuming we find nothing, we'll come back here and search the rest of the city," I explained.

Erin had her mouth wide open, and she said, "Are you kidding me?"

"What's the problem?" I asked, having thought it was a good plan.

"Twenty _miles_? I'm not walking that far!"

My expression went from surprise to anger as I said, "No, you're right, you'll be walking further, because we have to search in every direction. So all in all, we'll be going for about five days." Erin's mouth opened even wider, and even Taylor and Nichi seemed on edge about this. "Look, if we want to take these things out permanently, we're going to have to kill as many of them as possible. Now, does that mean we're going to destroy _every _single one of them across the _entire_ planet? No. While we fight, we'll be searching for clues on the Decepticons, which will hopefully be the means to taking them all down," I explained to them.

Erin was still in shocked disapproval, while Taylor also seemed a little skeptic of this idea, but Nichi was starting to see the logic in it. "Okay…so what happens if St. Peters is attacked while we're gone?" she asked.

That…was a good question. "Well…chances are, if the decepticlones do attack, we'll be able to see the smoke from where we are, so I'll be able to get back in a matter of seconds, and intercept the threat," I decided.

"Okay, so if we're twenty miles out, how do you expect to get back to St. Peters in a matter of seconds?" Erin asked. Her eyes widened, as she realized I was right behind her.

"This is how," I answered.

"Oh…okay then," she said, still in shock.

"Okay. Are we ready to move out?" I asked them.

"Yeah," said Nichi.

"I guess so," said Erin.

The three of us left the mall, and headed for the main road. The moment I saw it, I immediately stopped. Taylor, Erin, and Nichi all stopped as well and looked at me.

"What's wrong?" Nichi asked.

"You don't see it?" I said. "Look closely at Mid Rivers Mall Drive." The three of them looked over to the road, seeing nothing at first, but then, Nichi's eyes widened in horror. The road was completely barren of cars. Usually, you'd see at least about twenty cars every fifteen feet. And that was on a slow day. Now, there wasn't a single vehicle, moving or otherwise, anywhere to be seen.

"No way…" I said quietly. "No way they could have done this in just the thirty minutes that we were in there. At the very least, we'd have heard something. We'd have known something was going on."

"Everyone was too wrapped up in their fights," Nichi said.

"But I personally was only in there for all of about five minutes. And there were plenty of cars and people out then. I don't understand. How could this have possibly happened?"

"Maybe they have some sort of jutsu," I wondered.

"Some sort of what?" Taylor asked.

"All the fire and lightning and everything that I fired off, those are called 'jutsu'," I explained. "Anyways, maybe they have one too, which has the power to do this." And then it hit me. _Genjutsu_. A genjutsu could easily have the power to trick us into thinking that there were no people around. Or better yet, a smarter shinobi would use it to trick us into seeing people upon entering the mall when there really were none, so as to throw us off our guard. At any rate, we had to stop these things before they took over the entire world.

"Look out!" Nichi pushed me to the ground as Taylor and Erin dived down as well, and an explosion blasted the ground apart, sending rubble all over us.

"What was that!?" Taylor said as she sat up. We all looked over and saw a serge standing on top of the mall. We heard guns cocking behind us and looked to see a squad of four medium units pointing their blasters at us.

"Yay," I said as I looked at the medium units. "You three take the medium units, I'll take the serge," I whispered to them, and they all nodded.

The medium units fired, and I instantly conjured a clone to take the hits. Taylor, Erin and Nichi all got to their feet and fired at the medium units while I shot up and leaped at the serge. The serge shot a rocket at me, but I threw a shuriken at it and detonated it, then flew right through the explosion. The serge met me with his sword, but I blocked it with a kunai, and flipped over him. I landed on the ground and charged in, but the blade of my kunai broke off against his chest. I could just barely get out of the way as the serge swung its sword, and I landed about twenty feet away. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_"

I fired a barrage of fireballs at the serge, but he blocked them all with his sword, and waited for me to come. "_Chidori!_" The surge of lightning appeared in my hand, and I braced to charge the serge, who raised his sword. I collided my jutsu with the sword, punching a crater into the roof of the mall. The sword held out at first, but I pushed, and the blade shattered, I stepped forward and thrust my arm into the serge's gut, nearly tearing him in half. I wrenched my arm out of his gut, and he dropped, not moving anymore. Two of the medium units were down, and Erin was supporting an injured leg, which bled all over the place.

I landed a fire-kunai into each of the two remaining medium units, which were blown apart by the explosion. I jumped down from the roof and walked over to Erin, pulling out some bandages. I wrapped them around her leg, and she stood back up, testing it to see if she could walk. "It'll have to do for now," I told her. Then I had a change of heart and said, "Or, I guess we could spend the night at the mall and head out in the morning?"

"No, I'll be fine," Erin said, and she winced in pain from trying to walk.

"I said I'm fine," Erin repeated as I sat her down on a bed in JC Penny's.

"I don't care," I told her simply. "There's no way I'm letting you walk on that leg. We'll spend the night here and head out in the morning. The sun's going down anyway, so we need a place to stay. Now, I'm going off, but I'll leave a clone here in case you need anything," I told her.

"Okay, thanks," she said, massaging her leg.

I walked out of Penny's and began to do my own thing, but someone grabbed my hand, and Nichi said, "Come on, you and I are going to have a talk." I was dragged along, wondering what this could possibly be about, and we ended up at the food court.

"When did you plan to tell me?" she asked.

"Tell you…what?" I asked, completely clueless.

She looked at me, and said, "About this. You. Everything."

"Oh. Well, to be perfectly honest, never," I answered.

Her shoulders sagged in exasperation, and she said, "Well too bad, cuz you're gonna tell me everything now." I figured I had nothing to lose now, seeing as she had seen it with her own eyes, so I decided to cough up.

"Alright. Last year, I was attacked by one of our teachers, Mr. Teki. I was saved and brought to Japan, where I learned I was a shinobi. That's why I can perform all these jutsu. My chakra system inside of me is the fuel for these techniques. The reason I've been gone so much is because I had to do some stuff for the place I was at, which took a lot of time," I explained to her.

"And you didn't want to tell anyone?" she asked.

"Well, no, I just didn't feel like explaining," I answered.

"Well…you've told me. But I'm not happy you lied to me," she told me.

"It's nothing personal, I just didn't feel like it concerned you," I said to her.

This seemed to tick her off even more, and she said, "I'm your friend, Matt. I care about you. More than you think." I pondered over this last bit, wondering what she meant by it. She couldn't possibly _like_ me; no girl in that whole school _liked_ me. I guessed I would just have to be clueless, as I couldn't think of anything else.

"Okay, I've told you. I'm gonna go off on my own for a little while," I said to her, getting up.

"No you're not," she said to me, getting up as well.

"And why's that?" I asked skeptically.

"Because," she said walking over to me. "I know that you think you don't have any friends," she told me. "And I'm going to prove to you that you're wrong." She grabbed my hand and dragged me off, me wondering rather I actually wanted to do this or not.

She led me to Deb, making me instantly regret agreeing to this. "Why are we here?" I asked with an irritated tone.

"Because, you're going to help me look for new clothes," she answered with a smile.

"No I'm not," I informed her, becoming more and more irritated by the second.

"Yes, you are," she said, her smile fading.

"Why?" I asked her.

"I already told you," she answered.

"You think you don't have any friends, but I'm going to prove you wrong. You have friends. Maybe not many, but you have a few. But trust me. Matt…you are my best friend, and I will help you through anything. And also…" She looked down momentarily, as if she didn't want to say this next part. "Matt…listen. I don't want you to get hurt anymore. Please…go home, and leave this to your cousins and I."

I blinked several times before speaking, and when I did, I said, "And why would I do that?"

"Because," she said, "it's obvious you've put yourself in danger a lot by now. I don't want you getting hurt or worse. Please…go home and try to live your life as normal as possible."

"Okay, Nichi, have you not been paying attention?" I asked her. "I'm the strongest person here. If I left, all three of you would get killed."

Nichi looked down at her feet, and whispered, "I don't care. I don't care if we get killed, I just want you to be safe!"

"Well how can I be safe with these things running ramped across the world!?" I said angrily. She knew I had her there.

"Okay, enough," said a voice from out of nowhere.

"What the-!?" I yelled in surprise, looking around for the source of the voice.

"Down here, Withau." I looked at my blaster, and my eyes widened. Set into the metal was a tiny screen, which showed McKinley's face in it.

"Whoa, a communicator," I said in awe.

"Matt! Nichi!" Taylor came running over, followed by my _Shadow Clone_, which was supporting Erin.

"What is it?" I asked McKinley.

"I called to officially rank the members of this squad," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Nichi. You're squad leader. Taylor, you're second-in-command," McKinley said.

"Wait, what about me?" I asked her.

"What do you mean?" McKinley asked me. I noticed the look on her face, and it seemed to be something close to resentment.

"I'm just saying, since I have way more experience, wouldn't it make more sense to put me in charge?" I asked, choosing my words carefully.

"Well, you haven't proven to me that you have what it takes to be a squad leader. Just the opposite in fact."

"Wait, what?" I said, not sure I heard right. "I've taken down more decepticlones than anyone, plus, I fought off Starscream," I reminded her.

"Yes, but you don't work with your squad members. They're your ally. They're there to help you," she told me.

"They've saved my hide more than their fair share," I told her. "If they hadn't have been here for me, I'd be long dead by now, and I'll be the first to admit it!" I said, getting angrier by the moment.

"Regardless of the fact," McKinley said, raising her voice as well. "You insist on doing all of the tougher tasks yourself, leaving them with the dead weight. For that, you don't deserve to be leader."

"Okay, so by SNIS standards, protecting your comrades is a bad thing?" I asked irritably.

"As I keep telling you, your task is teamwork. If you had let your teammates help you, you _might_ have been chosen as squad leader. As it stands, you are nothing but the lackey."

I stood there in shocked silence, unable to believe that I was hearing this. Finally, my shock turned into anger. "Fine," I said in an evil whisper, as I took out a kunai. I rammed the knife into the screen, making it shut offline, and I said, "Screw this, I'm done. You all have fun without me. And you can take this too."

The Mini-Con on my arm detached and turned back into a robot, which walked over to Taylor, Erin and Nichi. And with that, I walked off.


	85. Chapter 84: Man Out

This has to be the shittiest chapter I've written in a long time -.-

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MAN OUT

[Nichi's point of view] I watched Matt walk off, unbelieving of what I had just heard. I knew there was no stopping him, but that didn't change the fact that I wanted more than anything for him to stay here. Erin watched him go with an expressionless look, while Taylor seemed to be taking it the same way I was. We watched him leave the mall, and the moment he was out of sight, his clone disappeared as well. "What do we do now?" Taylor asked.

"I guess just…try our best to kill these things. Although it is going to be a lot tougher without Matt," I admitted. I watched the door he walked out of, hoping he was going to be alright.

"Okay, so where do we go from here?" Erin asked.

"Well, Matt will probably head up north, since it was his idea, so we should probably go further into St. Peters, and try to clear out any decepticlones residing here," I answered.

"Alright, let's go," Erin said, starting to walk off.

"Hold on," I said, noticing her limp. "You're still not good to walk on that leg. We'll do what Matt suggested and camp out here for the night. Understood?"

"But-" Erin began.

"Remember. I'm the team leader now. You have to do what I say, no question," I reminded her with a smile.

I could tell just by the look on her face that she wasn't used to being told what to do, but the pain in her knee betrayed her, and she finally said, "Alright. Fine. But we head out first thing in the morning." The three of us went back into the mall, and Erin sat down on one of the mattresses, making sure to keep her weight off her leg.

"Alright, I'm going to go walk around to see if there's anyone else here. In the meantime, holler if you need anything," I told her. She nodded, and Taylor and I walked off.

"So, how did you and Matt meet?" Taylor asked me with a smile.

"Uh, honestly, I don't remember," I answered. "We met in fourth grade. I think we just started talking."

"Are you two dating?" she asked, her grin growing wider.

"Uhh," I said, feeling myself growing red. "Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"But you do like him, don't you?" she asked.

"Uhh…" I felt myself growing redder and redder, unsure of how to answer. The truth was, I really did like him. But I wouldn't want to date him. I could tell he wasn't mature enough for anything like that. "No. I don't," I answered, looking down at the ground. Taylor looked like she didn't believe me, but she decided to let it go.

We both went shopping in Macy's, looking for new stuff to wear. I eventually forgot about looking for other people as we went through racks of shirts. Meanwhile, Erin sat on the mattress, her leg resting on it as well as she cringed at the throbbing pain. She heard someone walking and looked over, and her face fell. Taylor and I were looking at jewelry when we heard a bloodcurdling scream. We both looked in the direction of the mall in horror, and we were both too paralyzed to move. Eventually, we summoned the strength to run to Erin's aid, hoping it wasn't too late. When we got there, Erin was hobbling backwards out of the store, pointing her blaster at something that was still in there.

The decepticlone spun a metal staff in circles, and then slammed the end against the ground. I felt the shockwave from forty feet away, and I immediately began shaking. It was the size of a human, made entirely of metal, and was armed with a staff tipped at one end with a blade, and a metal ball at the other end. "Where's Matt when you need him?" I said, backing up a step. The Mini-Con ran over and faced the decepticlone, looking like it wanted to take him on by itself.

"No, you need to stay back," I said, bending down and picking up the Mini-Con. The decepticlone charged me while I was still kneeled down, and I got back to my feet, but couldn't counter him. Erin and Taylor fired at him, and the decepticlone blocked the blasts with his staff. I put the Mini-Con on the ground and fired at the decepticlone as well, but he spun his staff in circles to block it. He then charged me head-on, and I was forced to dive out of the way as he sped passed. Taylor, Erin and I fired relentlessly at him, but the blasts all bounced off of him like nothing, as he turned around slowly to face us.

Finally, the Mini-Con transformed into a rocket launcher and attached to my wrist. The decepticlone instantly charged me with his staff raised, and I fired a pair of rockets at him. He blocked them with his staff, but was forced back by the explosion, and immediately recovered. Taylor and Erin fired more blasts at him, but he once again blocked them all effortlessly with his staff. I dived out of the way as the clone charged me, then stopped short and bared down on me with the sharp end of his staff. I fired a pair of rockets up at him, and he was obscured in the smoke, out of which dropped embers that ignited the ground. I got to my feet and backed up so as not to get hit by the flames.

The flames and smoke were all suddenly blown aside by the decepticlone swinging his staff, and he then prepared to charge me. Taylor and Erin both got between him and myself, ready to intercept him. "No! Get out of the way!" I told them desperately. "I'm the only one who has any hope of actually beating him!"

"No, you can't beat him alone!" Taylor said, aiming her blaster at the decepticlone's head. The decepticlone held out its staff, and electricity surged around it.

"Oh, jeez," Erin said, raising her blaster as well. The decepticlone charged faster than any of us could react, and it completely bypassed Taylor and Erin and went straight for me. I tried to dodge him, but he cut the Mini-Con in half, scorching my wrist and sending it cascading across the ground. The decepticlone spun its staff around some more, but was blasted in the back of the head by two blasts. He turned around and looked at Taylor and Erin, both of whom had nervous but determined expressions.

"No…you have to run," I said, looking between them and the decepticlone in horror. The decepticlone braced to charge, and I looked down at the Mini-Con, who was now dead, leaving me unable to figure out how to beat this thing. The decepticlone charged, and both Taylor and Erin dived out of the way, hitting the ground. The decepticlone stopped short and came down on top of Erin with his staff. I fired at him, but he blocked me with his staff, and then preceded to finish Erin.

"Get away from her!" Taylor came at the decepticlone full force, but the decepticlone spun around and landed his foot in her stomach, sending her flying back and tumbling across the ground. The decepticlone turned back to Erin to find that she was gone. Her fist landed in the decepticlone's cheek, knocking him down to the ground. Erin stomped on the hand that was holding his staff, and then picked up the staff and prepared to finish him with it. The decepticlone raised its arm to the staff, which exploded in electricity, electrocuting Erin and knocking her off her feet. Taylor was just getting back to her feet, and she and I pointed our blasters at the decepticlone.

The decepticlone got back to his feet and picked up his staff. He twirled it around in his hands and blocked our blasts, then charged me head-on. I dived out of the way and immediately got back to a kneeling position, then jumped back out of the way of his second attack. Taylor fired at him, but he spun around and blocked the blasts, then charged her head-on. She just stood there, which I could tell was going to get her killed, and I charged as fast as I could to try and protect her. I knew I wouldn't be fast enough, as I watched in horror as the decepticlone thrust its staff at Taylor.

Blood spattered through the air, and I stopped cold, watching the scene with wide eyes. Taylor's eyes were wide as well, and she had blood on her face from the impact. Erin grasped the staff with all her might, the blade of which had grazed her palm, along with her side. "You stay away from my sister. Do you hear me?" She coughed up blood and dropped to her knees, her hands wrapped around her side. The decepticlone twirled its staff around, and prepared to finish Erin.

"Hey!" He turned around to face me, and I had my blaster pointed at him. "If you want to pick on someone, pick on me." The decepticlone seemed to oblige as it turned from Taylor and Erin entirely and raised its staff to me. Taylor bent down to tend to Erin, but kept her eyes on us most of the time. The decepticlone charged me with its staff, but I ducked his slash, and the clone spun the staff in the air above us, then brought it down on top of me. I jumped back out of the way, and it smashed the blade end into the ground, and then electricity traveled across the ground from the staff, taking me by surprise.

"Aagh!" Blood spattered out of my mouth as I hit the ground on my butt, and was too dazed to get back up. The clone walked towards me, and when it was three feet away, a few blasts hit the decepticlone in the head. He turned to Taylor, who was back on her feet and pointing her blaster at the decepticlone. I got to my feet, catching the decepticlone's eye, and he swung his staff around, catching me across the stomach before I could jump out of the way. Blood spattered across the ground, and I landed on the ground, grunting in pain, with my arms wrapped around my stomach. The decepticlone spun its staff around in the air and prepared to bring it down on top of me.

"Get away from her!" Taylor came up from out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around the decepticlone's neck from behind, trying to pull him back onto the ground. The decepticlone grabbed Taylor's arms and swung her around, making her barely able to hang on.

"No!" I screamed, jumping forward as well. The decepticlone kicked me in the stomach, making me stop cold, and he then swung Taylor around so violently, she was forced to let go. He held onto her arms and swung her around even more, then threw her ten feet away, making her roll across the ground. He swung his staff around, but I was still too dazed from him hitting me to do anything about it. A few blasts hit him from behind, drawing his attention to, not Taylor, but Erin, who was back on her feet, ignoring the pain in her hand and side, and pointing her blaster at the decepticlone. He instantly spun around and blocked my fist with his staff, then shocked me with electricity, making me spit out blood and stumble back, unable to move my body.

Through the pain, I was just barely able to see him spin his staff around one more time, and prepared for the finishing move. A shot landed in the decepticlone's hand, making him drop his staff, then massage his hand while turning around. Both Taylor and Erin had their blasters pointed at the decepticlone, leaving him stuck. I then managed to pull together the strength to point my own blaster at him, which he barely reacted to. The decepticlone charged before any of us could attack, coming straight at Taylor and Erin. They both landed a few rounds in him, with me hitting him from behind, but he blew them all off like it was nothing, and landed his fist in Erin's stomach.

She dropped like a rock, and the decepticlone grabbed Taylor's wrist and threw it up into the air, then kneed her in the stomach, making her drop to the ground as well. He then turned to me, but didn't charge, instead just glaring at me with his robotic eyes. I held my blaster to him, prepared to take him out the instant he moved, but he dropped to the ground and didn't get back up. "Huh?" I was completely confused; was he just faking? I walked cautiously over him to examine him, but couldn't see any signs of life. I guessed all of the blasts we had hit him with had finally taken their toll. I looked over at Taylor and Erin to find that Taylor was on her knees over Erin, who was still on the ground, and looking at me with half-open eyes.

I looked at her wounds and saw that they had stopped bleeding, which was a good sign. _Things could have been a lot worse,_ I sighed to myself.

[Matt's point of view] The ground blazed with a sea of seven-foot-tall flames, in the middle of which stood two medium-units, who stood there in horror, pointing their blasters. The flames then consumed them, making their parts cascade across the ground. I stood there, panting in anger. I looked over, and saw a shape looming high over the fire. I couldn't make it out, but it was about eight feet thick, and about thirty feet tall. Bright purple light appeared at the top of the object, which I recognized as chakra. A laugh echoed from the flames that seemed to come from a demon, and sent chills down my spine. Not because of the demonic air of it so much as because I recognized it. "It's been a long time, Boy," said Orochimaru.


	86. Chapter 85: Return of the Snake

RETURN OF THE SNAKE

I stood there in shock, unable to believe what I was seeing. "Orochimaru," I said finally. "What're you doing here?"

"Aw, come on, after all this time and that's the only greeting I get?" he said with a skeptic smile. "Of course, then again, I guess it has only been a month," he added.

"I'm going to ask one more time," I warned. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you see, Sasuke never stops talking about you, so I thought I'd find you and see just how well you stack up," Orochimaru answered, with the same skeptic smile.

"If it's a fight you're looking for, I'll be happy to oblige," I told him, getting ready to go.

"Oh, you don't need to be scared," Orochimaru said, reading me like a book. "We're not going to be playing for keeps here."

"Oh really? Then what exactly is it that we are playing for here?" I asked. "It's just as I said. I want to test your ability to its fullest potential," he told me. "But before I fight you myself, you're going to need to get past my little friend." And then I noticed what he was standing on. It was an enormous snake, eight feet thick and about seventy feet long. I looked at the snake in terror, unable to figure out what would possibly harm this thing. And then I remembered I had twenty or so jutsu that might do the trick.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired the gigantic fireball up at the snake, but he moved out of the way and let it fly by, Orochimaru remaining in place on top of his head. The snake lunged down with its mouth open, but I leaped out of the way and let it smash into the ground. While still in the air, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired twenty tiny fireballs down at the snake, but he rose his head, and they all bounced off him like it was nothing. He lunged at me again, but I made another sequence of hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired one more fireball down at the snake just in time for it to not be able to dodge or hit me, and it was hit head-on, and engulfed in flames.

Orochimaru dropped off before the flames hit him and flew down out of sight, while the snake rose into the air, the flames slowly taking over his body. He shook his head violently, sending embers raining across the ground, until the flames were finally put out. I looked at his head and saw that it was severely burnt, almost completely blackened from the flames. The giant snake hissed at me, his forked tongue flickering up and down, and I could tell he was in serious pain. I threw a fire-kunai up at him, but it bounced off his hard skin and exploded out of range, not even touching the snake.

He lunged at me again, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Giant Air Shield!_" The air around me condensed into a twenty-foot dome, and the snake ran right into it, but the shield managed to slow him down before he hit me. I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Piercing Prism!_" The wind within the dome condensed even further into blades that pierced the snake, sending blood spattering across the ground. I focused my chakra into the shield and caused it to explode, sending the snake flying back and sliding across the ground. His weight tore the ground apart as he went, and by the time he stopped, he had successfully torn apart a football field.

After a few seconds, the snake rose back up, his blood dripping to the ground in huge clots. Before he even knew what happened, I collided a _Chidori_ into his head, causing him to hiss in pain and send even more blood spattering across the ground. I came out of his chin and landed on the ground, blood and gore all over me, and the snake swayed through the air and began to drop on top of me. I used the remainder of my _Chidori_ to intercept the snake, cutting its enormous head off and sending both pieces crashing to the ground on either side of me. "This boy…" Orochimaru said with a smile, "has not once failed to amaze me."

"Alright, I've killed your pet, now it's your turn," I said to him, a smile spread across my face.

"Confident, aren't we?" Orochimaru said with an anticipant grin on his face.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired five medium-sized fireballs out at him, and he just stood there as they all hit him and engulfed him in flames. I knew he wasn't dead, as I knew exactly what he was capable of. A snake with a never-ending body flew out of the flames and came at me, its fangs bared. I jumped out of the way, and it followed me through the air, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" When the snake came within a few inches of me, I blew a stream of flame onto it, igniting it, and the stream flew down the snake and to Orochimaru. A huge explosion sent tendrils of flame flying through the air, and I landed on the ground, waiting to see what had happened to Orochimaru.

The flame and smoke cleared, and Orochimaru was standing there, completely unharmed, a wicked grin across his face. I was panting, starting to run low on chakra. _Wind Style: Giant Air Shield_, _Wind Style: Piercing Prism_, and _Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu_ were some of my strongest jutsu. As a result, they were some of my most chakra-consuming. I had picked up _Wind Style: Piercing Prism_ very recently, after the Sasuke mission, but it was an extremely useful technique. I had learned a number of new jutsu during those few weeks between the Sasuke mission and this one, and almost all of them were high-rank. To date, I had around twenty jutsu in my arsenal, and each and every one of them were as useful as the next.

I was still waiting for my _Rinnegan_ to awaken, because that meant I could learn even more jutsu, and become even stronger. Orochimaru pointed his arm at me and sent another python out of it at me, but I pulled out a kunai and chopped its head off. The snake detached from Orochimaru's arm and dropped to the ground limp, while Orochimaru made some hand signs. "_Wind Style: Tornado Bomb!_"

He spat a ball of compressed wind at me, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Ember Shot!_" I fired a single tiny fireball out of my mouth, and it hit the wind ball, and grew bigger. Orochimaru's grin grew, and he leaped into the air to avoid the fireball. The fireball exploded, sending about a dozen embers flying in every direction, but Orochimaru sent another python at the one that would have hit him. I made some more hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I fired half a dozen balls of water out of my mouth up at him, but he dived out of the way of them and landed on the ground. "_Rasengan!_"

I leaped at Orochimaru with my jutsu, and he prepared for me to come. I thrust my arm forward, but he simply stood there with a nasty grin on his face. I collided the _Rasengan_ into Orochimaru's gut, but he turned into mud and splattered all over me. I landed on the ground and leaped into the air as three giant pythons sprouted up out of the ground. They all shot up at me, their bodies never-ending, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired six fireballs out of my mouth, three of which hit the snakes, while the remaining three smashed into the ground, tearing it up to make Orochimaru easier to find. I landed on the ground, but the ground burst apart at my feet to reveal a paper-white hand to stretch out and go to my throat.

I ducked the hand and pulled out a kunai, preparing to chop it off, but the arm came down and tried to smash me, and I rolled out of the way as it smashed into the ground. Another hand sprouted out of the ground next to the first, but it was placed onto the ground at its normal length, and it was used as a standpoint to assist Orochimaru as he crawled up out of the ground. I threw my kunai at him, but he opened up his mouth to make room for a snake to crawl out and take the kunai. The snake fell out of Orochimaru's mouth and landed on the ground dead, with its blood pooling around it.

I got to my feet and waited for Orochimaru as he crawled out of the ground, and got to his feet as well to face me. "You'll have to get a little more creative if you have any hope of getting to me," Orochimaru warned me. "Okay, let's try this!" I said, and I ran straight at him. _To charge me head-on like this…_ Orochimaru thought to himself as he waited for me to come. I plowed my fist into his hand, then sent my leg at his side, only to be blocked by his own leg. I jumped up and flipped over, bringing my leg up and back down on top of him. He blocked me with his arm, and that left him wide open. I raised my second fist and aimed it at his face, leaving him defenseless.

He looked at me in shock, but then took on an evil grin. "Gah!" I was sent flying back by what seemed to be absolutely nothing, and tumbled across the ground, coming out at twenty feet away. I got back to my feet and charged him again, but then leaped into the air, making some hand signs. "_Earth Style: Rampant Shockwave!_" A three-hundred-sixty-degree shockwave emanated from my entire body, tearing the ground apart as it advanced towards Orochimaru. He crossed his arms in preparation, watching the boulders flying at him. He was hit by the shockwave and lost from view, and the ground within a fifty-foot area was torn apart, leaving a rocky landscape.

I landed on the ground, but almost lost my footing, as I was exhausted from having used so much chakra. Orochimaru laid on the ground, half-buried in rubble, his head cracked open and his eyes staring blankly. _Did I seriously kill him?_ I asked myself, as I would have been amazed if so. His mouth opened wider, and a paper-white human hand crept out of it, grabbing the side of Orochimaru's face. The mouth opened wider for a second hand, and then Orochimaru pulled himself out, then got to his feet. _I may have to stop going easy on him,_ he thought to himself, as he opened his mouth wide and stuck his hand into it. I knew exactly what was happening, and I had been waiting for it the entire fight. He pulled something out of his mouth, but it was too long for the normal human mouth to hold.

As he pulled it further out, it was revealed to be a sword, which he pointed at me. I pulled out a kunai knife, and charged him once more, ready to counter whatever he had for me. We exchanged blades a few times, until I leaped over him and landed behind him, then went in for the stab. He spun around and blocked me, but I got around his guard and aimed for his face. He watched me with a look of shock etched on his face, but the shock quickly changed into an evil grin. Before I knew what had even happened, I was flying in the opposite direction from Orochimaru, pain cutting into me like a bunch of knives.

As I flew, blood met my eyes, and I realized that Orochimaru's attack, whatever it was, actually had cut me in several different places at once. I rolled across the ground, trailing blood along the way, and I came out fifteen feet away on one knee. Orochimaru stood there, perfectly unharmed, leering down at me. I got back to my feet, stemming the blood flow from my shoulder, and said, "Alright, you got me. But that won't happen again."

"No, I think that's quite enough for today," Orochimaru said, and he made a hand sign. His neck stretched far beyond its normal length, and his head came at me, mouth open and fangs bared. Before I could counter him, he sank his teeth into the back of my shoulder, drawing blood and causing a piercing pain throughout my neck. He wrenched his fangs out and his neck receded back to its original length, and at that exact moment, an unimaginable pain tore into the spot where he had bit. It was like the spot had been doused in gasoline and lit on fire. I looked in a pond next to me and saw three lines that were bent at a ninety-degree angle in the middle, forming a rotary pattern.

I suddenly flashed back to my fight with Sasuke, and the little black marks running across his entire body. Did that mean I now had a Curse Mark as well? "And now, I think I'll take it one step further," Orochimaru said, making a hand sign. "_Curse Mark Jutsu: Rock Seal Release!_" His body became engulfed in purple chakra, which then flowed over to me and enveloped me as well. The pain in my neck doubled, and I was put on the ground from it, unable to move. The purple chakra subsided, and Orochimaru disappeared, which was quickly followed by me falling unconscious.

[_Third-Person point of view_] Orochimaru stood in the cover of a patch of trees, and made some hand signs. He slammed his palm on the ground and said, "_Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Resurrection!_" A huge puff of smoke appeared right in front of him, and when it cleared, three beige coffins stood facing him. The coffins opened up, and three people stepped out. Dosu Kinuta, Zaku Abumi, and Kin Tsuchi all stood there, their eyes sunken from the afterlife.


	87. Chapter 86: The Search

I about threw up as I edited this...

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THE SEARCH

Dosu Kinuta, whose face was completely wrapped in bandages except for his left eye, and wore a black and gray scarf, gray coat, and pants to match the scarf. Zaku Abumi, who had an off-white head plate, with his Hidden Sound Village headband wrapped around his forehead, long, spiky, black hair, and wore the same scarf and pants as Dosu, along with a pale-yellow shirt with the kanji for death on the front. Kin Tsuchi, who had long, black hair tied with a purple ribbon, her Sound headband wrapped around her forehead, same scarf and pants as the others with matching mini-skirt, and a pale-green tank-top. The eyes of all three had inky-black sclera with yellow irises and pupils.

"Orochimaru," said Zaku angrily. "What are you doing here?"

"Better yet, what are _we_ doing here?" Dosu asked, looking around.

"Oh, I just thought after all this time in the afterlife, you'd like to have a little bit of fresh air," Orochimaru said pleasantly.

"More like you're gonna use us again?" Kin asked.

"Oh, heavens, no," Orochimaru said in mock-offense. "I wouldn't think of such a thing. It's just that I have a job for you, and given your past assignment, I saw it fit that the three of you would be the ones to take on this task," Orochimaru explained.

"Oh really?" said Dosu skeptically.

"Why, yes," said Orochimaru, smiling at his former trainees' defiance.

"Okay, but how are we alive?" Zaku asked.

"Oh, make no mistake, you haven't been brought back to life," Orochimaru assured them.

"I just bound your souls to this world, into fresh corpses," he explained. "Wait, that M/O sounds familiar," Zaku said, trying to recall.

"The _Impure World Resurrection_," Dosu determined.

"Heh, revived by the same jutsu that killed us in the first place, huh?" Zaku said, smiling at his former master's malice.

"Precisely," Orochimaru said.

"If that's the case, then I guess we have no choice," Kin said, getting angrier by the second.

"Correct again," Orochimaru said to her. "Okay, fine, what's this task you want us to accomplish?" Zaku asked.

Orochimaru chuckled slightly, then said, "Same as last time. I've bestowed a young shinobi with a Curse Mark, and I want you to test his strength. I went a few rounds with him earlier, but I want to see what he can do now," Orochimaru explained.

[Nichi's point of view] I was panting heavily, with my blaster pointed forward. The remains of three medium units were spread out across the ground. Taylor was sitting down, while Erin was sprawled across the ground. Both were panting heavily as well. Blood trickled down my cheek and dripped to the ground from a blaster bolt that had grazed the side of my head during the fight. Taylor nor Erin had any fresh wounds, but they were both exhausted from the fight. Erin's palm and side had been bandaged up, and while they still hurt her, she was able to walk and fight at a hundred percent. I was just happy that the fight was over, and we could move on to finding Matt.

It had been almost twenty-four hours since he had left, and we had been looking desperately for him ever since. We were currently right on the outskirts of St. Peters, on Ecology Drive. Taylor and Erin rose to their feet, and we were now looking at the miles of endless farmland, somewhere in which was Matt.

"Are we ready?" I asked my team.

"What if we can't find him?" Erin asked.

"Don't think about that," I told her.

"Okay, but what if we don't?" Taylor chimed in. "There's two-hundred square miles of land out there. He could be anywhere. Plus, what if he moves on to a different area? We'll never be able to find him then."

I wanted to say that everything would be okay; that we would find him, and everything would be back to normal. But the truth was, I had been thinking those same things. The chances of us actually finding him to begin with were slim as it was. And being as stubborn as Matt is, we would also have to fight to convince him to rejoin our team. With that aspect added in, the chances that we would actually get him back were almost zero. But regardless of this fact, we had to try as hard as possible. Matt had proven he was strong, but even he couldn't possibly take on an entire army by himself. If he were to be ambushed, and we weren't there to back him up, there would be no way he could survive.

With this thought in mind, my determination was quickly restored, and I said, "We'll just have to do our best." We set out, every one of us hoping we could find him, but not having our hopes very high. We wanted to split up in order to cover more ground, but agreed it would be a bad idea, since none of us could handle a squad of decepticlones by ourselves. About a mile out from the city, we saw parts of what looked like machinery scattered all over the place. "I guess it's safe to say we're going in the right direction," Erin said, picking up a fragment of metal. I looked around, searching the endless farmland for signs of anything suspicious. I was at least hoping for some smoke, but there didn't seem to be any signs of life out here.

Finally, I said, "Alright, let's get moving." We continued our search, hoping beyond hope that we could find him, until we saw something that caught our eye. It was a patrol of six light units, standing in a circle, guarding a drop ship. I looked closer, and saw two medium units hauling something into the drop ship. I couldn't see it clearly, but it was glowing yellow, making me narrow it down. "They've got a Mini-Con," I said to my teammates, readying my blaster.

"Okay, wait, are we really ready to take on that much resistance?" Erin asked. "I mean, we were barely able to take on that other robot. And without our Mini-Con, it'll only make things harder." I had to agree with her here. But if we could get our hands on the one that they were retrieving, we would have more of a shot at taking these things. The only problem with that theory was that the decepticlones were taking off with our Mini-Con in a drop ship. I reacted instinctively and fired a blast into the engine of the ship, making it shudder violently, and then drop down and crash into the ground. The light units all looked around at us, but were bombarded by a hailstorm of shots.

Two of them dropped to the ground while the remaining four pointed their blasters at us and started firing. We all dived out of the way, and I managed to kill one of them while Taylor and Erin killed two more. That left one more light unit, while the rubble of the drop ship was knocked aside to make way for one of the medium units. The light unit was blown aside, and we fired at the medium unit, who dived out of the way of the blasts, and started firing back.

We managed to not get hit, until Erin fired a blast that hit the medium unit right between the eyes and blew its head clean off. Its body dropped to the ground, leaving us a clean path to the Mini-Con. "Where did you learn to shoot like that?" I asked Erin.

"I don't know, I guess I was just born with it," she answered, clearly proud of herself. We all walked over to the Mini-Con, and I bent down and pressed my palm against it. The outer shell opened up to reveal a small green robot. It transformed into a scope and attached to my blaster. I looked through the scope, able to see clearly for a hundred yards. I searched through the cornfields and discovered a platoon of three medium units and six light units patrolling the area. I smiled to myself, seeing perfectly the use of this Mini-Con, and fired a single shot at the robots. One of the medium units was hit in the shoulder, making all nine of them jump. Most of them marched in our direction, while one of the medium units went in the complete opposite direction, further into the cornfields.

I fired mainly at the light units, taking out all but one of them before the decepticlones were in firing range. We all took cover in the cornfields, and started firing back at them. As one of the medium units fell, a drop ship came out of the corn field, and flew over towards us. We all focused our fire on it, but Erin was hit in the chest and knocked off her feet, making us redirect our attention to what was in front of us. The medium units and remaining light unit were all pointing their blasters at us, and the drop ship unloaded five more medium units into the cornfield behind us, all of whom pointed their blasters at us. I looked around, trying to find a way out, but was resigned to raising my arms in surrender.

They took us out of the cornfield and into the open, then forced us on our knees and prepared to execute us. A loud crack rang through the air, and one of the medium units had his head blown off. All of us, including the decepticlones, looked over to find a farmer with a rifle, aiming it at the decepticlones. The light unit pointed its blaster at him, but was blown away before he could fire. The medium units released us and aimed their blasters, allowing me to blast the head off of the one that had been holding me, drawing the attention of the two that had been holding Taylor and Erin.

They pointed their blasters at me, but Erin took out one while the farmer took out the other. The medium units didn't know who to fire at, allowing the farmer to blow away one while I blew away another, and Erin took out the last one.

"You three okay?" the farmer asked in a heavy southern accent when he got up to us.

"Yes, thank you," I said as Taylor helped me to my feet.

"What do you think yer doin, takin these things on by yerselves?" he asked.

"We were ordered to by-" Taylor said, but I put my hand out to stop her.

"We're just sick of being oppressed by them," I said.

The farmer looked between us, then looked down at our blasters. I watched as the gears turned in his brain, trying to connect the dots. He finally came to a conclusion, but whatever it was, he didn't say.

"You'd best get that inspected," he said, pointing at Erin's chest wound.

"I'll be fine," she said, squeezing it with her hand to stem the blood flow.

"Well, whatever the truth is, I'd rather ya stay with me tonight," he said, "but I'm not that naïve, nor that stupid. You three just best be careful. There's sumthin dangerous out there. I don't know what it was, but it was causin smoke clouds a mile wide about five miles that way," he pointed towards the northwest, but there didn't seem to be anything abnormal going on now. However, if it was causing smoke clouds, I had a pretty good idea what it was.

"Thank you for your help," I said respectively.

"Like I said, just be careful. The military's pulled out. Don't know why. They sent a few soldiers here to combat em, but they were easily blown away. And that was the last we saw of any military action. I don know why there haven't been more attempts to stop them, but one thin's for sure. We're all alone out here. The best any of us can do is fight to protect our families. Now you three get on out of here before more show up," he said, and he turned around and went back to his farmhouse.

"What did he mean we're all alone?" Taylor asked. "It's like he said, the military's pulled out," Erin answered.

"Yeah, probably to protect more crucial parts of the country," I said. "Anyway, we need to find Matt, and we need to do it quickly." _And I know exactly where to look,_ I thought to myself.

We headed northwest, the direction the farmer had pointed, hoping that whatever had caused that smoke was on our side. We moved quickly, hoping to intercept him before he moved on, when I stopped Taylor and Erin. I pointed my scope in front of us and discovered a platoon of five light units headed by a serge. I lowered my scope, thinking about what we were going to do next. "Alright," I said finally, "I think our best option is to go around them and try not to draw their attention."

"That's not what Matt would do," Erin said in an undertone.

"I know," I admitted. "But Matt can shoot fire and lightning from his body. We don't have that ability. That means we can't face heavy resistance, otherwise we'll get killed. For now, we avoid anything too heavy until we find Matt. After that we'll take down everyone we see." She looked like she didn't like it, but finally she nodded her head. We detoured around the decepticlones, praying we didn't attract their attention, and only when we were half a mile away did we finally breathe easier. We walked for another half hour, until we came to a series of craters set into the ground.

"I'd say he's been here," Erin said, examining the destruction. I looked around at each of the craters, and saw that they seemed to be from different sources. Some of them were burnt, some seemed to be from brute force, and one of them even spiraled outward, as if from a drill.

"Did Matt do this?" Taylor asked, looking at the craters in amazement.

"I…don't know," I admitted. I really couldn't see him resorting to such powerful attacks just to destroy the decepticlones. There were pieces and parts scattered within a fifty-foot-radius of us. Was it just that there were so many of them that he had gotten overwhelmed and didn't have a choice? Or could it be possible that he had come up against Starscream? I looked around the ground, looking for some sign of where Matt might have gone.

"Look!" I shouted, pointing at something on the ground. We all ran over and bent down, examining a spatter of red on the earth. "Blood," Erin said.

"There's more over there!" Taylor said, pointing about five feet away. They were both small spatters, so it didn't appear that he was bleeding very badly, but regardless of the fact, he was still injured and needed to be treated. There were more spatters of blood along the ground, going in a steady line to the north.

"Let's go," I said, and we both rose up and started running. We followed the blood trail for about five minutes, until we came to another set of craters, that still had smoke rising from them. We looked around at the carnage, noticing that this seemed to be much worse than the last one. Finally, I noticed something at the center. A form lying on the ground. As I looked closer, I saw he was unconscious.

I walked towards him, then started running, tears coming from my eyes. "_Matt!_" What I didn't notice was the three people in the woods nearby, watching us with evil grins.


	88. Chapter 87: Attack of the Sound

ATTACK OF THE SOUND

I laid Matt gently on the ground and felt his forehead for signs of fever. He seemed to be fine except for a few minor injuries, but that didn't change the fact that he shouldn't be unconscious. I laid my head down next to his chest to check his heartbeat. The beat was steady, which was a good sign. I decided it would be better to stay put and let him wake up, then ask him what had happened. The sun was going down, which meant we would be resting soon anyway. I pulled a cloth out of the bag I had brought with me, and used it to wipe the blood and mud off Matt's forehead. The cuts on it were small, but they had been bleeding profusely. I checked his torso for wounds, examining his shredded and bloody shirt.

He had several blast wounds from fights with decepticlones, along with incisions from what looked like sword cuts. There was also a lot of blood spatter on his clothes that didn't appear to be his own. When I was done checking him, I simply looked at him, hoping he would be okay. What really concerned me was that mark on his neck. The one that was three lines which were bent in the middle. I knew for a fact that he hadn't had that before he left us, but I couldn't figure out where in the world it could have come from.

The sun set into the horizon, and the landscape was thrown into total darkness. Taylor, Erin and I spent several hours talking about random things. Eventually, I decided to take first watch and let them get some sleep. In four hours, I woke Taylor up for the next watch and went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning, I looked at Matt to see that he was still out. I stared at his eyelids, hoping he would wake up soon. And then, a voice from out of nowhere spoke, "You know, if you keep staring at him like that, he's gonna get creeped out when he wakes up."

I gasped and turned around to see three people walking out of the woods. "Who are you?" I asked, raising my blaster. Taylor and Erin pointed their blasters as well, but the three strangers didn't look even a little bit fazed.

"What is this? A couple of girls? That's who we're fighting?" the one with the spiky, black hair said.

"Careful, Zaku," the one with the bandaged face said warningly. "That kid could wake up at any moment. We want to be on our guard when he does. You remember what happened the last time, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Dosu," the first one said with a grin. "But thanks to _Impure World Resurrection_, we can't be killed, so we won't have to worry about that."

"_Impure_ what?" I said, completely confused. And then I noticed their eyes, which had black sclera, and yellow irises and pupils.

"Ah, you wouldn't understand," he said. "Anyhow, out of the way. We want to fight that kid behind you there."

My eyes widened, and I said, "What do you want with Matt?"

"We're shinobi, like him," Zaku answered. "And we've heard a lot about him. We want to test his strength to see if he really stacks up to his rep," he explained.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, he's kinda out of commission right now, so you'll have to do with us," I said, aiming my blaster at Zaku's head.

"Yeah, I can see that," he said snottily. "So we're just gonna have to wake him up."

"No you won't," I said warningly, cocking my blaster.

And then Zaku broke out into maniacal laughter. "You really think you can hurt _us_ with those little toys? You obviously don't know who you're messing with!" He raised his arms, palms facing us, and revealed what appeared to be holes in his hand, with metal outlining them. "Dosu, Kin, stay back. I want to take these three pests on my own," Zaku said, and he braced to charge. Taylor, Erin and I all put our fingers on our triggers, all of us trembling in fear. "I won't use ninjutsu on you yet," Zaku decided. "I'll just knock ya around a little until you're unconscious." And with that, he charged. We all fired at him, but he weaved in and out of our shots, quickly advancing towards us.

"Move!" I yelled, and we all dived out of the way. Only then did I realize that we had left Matt completely unprotected.

"Wakey, wakey," Zaku said with an evil smile as he pointed his hand down at Matt.

"No!" I screamed, pointing my blaster at his head.

"Get lost!" Zaku said angrily, and he threw a kunai down at me. I just barely managed to blast it out of the air, and Zaku watched me, his grin faded. I had my blaster pointed at him, hoping I could catch him before he got to me or Taylor and Erin. He then ducked a well-aimed shot from Erin, whom he then charged with his fist raised. She tried to block him, but he collided his fist right into her arms, sending her flying back and slamming into a tree. She spat out blood and hit the ground, slouched over and looking barely conscious. Zaku dodged a set of blasts from Taylor, whom he set his sights on next.

"You stay away from them!" I yelled, firing half a dozen shots at him. He jumped out of the way, then landed on the ground and charged me with his fist raised. I dived out of the way, allowing him to charge past, and he spun around and threw another kunai down at me. I somehow managed to move my leg out of the way in time, letting the knife hit the ground, and I pointed my blaster at him and fired. He ducked the blasts, then pulled out three shuriken and threw them at me. Still on the ground, I put my arm out in front of me and blocked them with my blaster. They all bounced off, leaving scratches in the metal of the blaster, and I got to my feet, pointing it at Zaku, hoping to keep him at bay. Little did I know, he was already right beside me.

"You're not gonna get very far if you keep hesitating like that," he said with an evil grin. He grabbed my shirt at the stomach, grabbed the scruff of my neck, and threw me into a tree. I spat out blood and dropped to the ground, then looked up at Zaku to see what he was doing. He was advancing on Taylor, who was too scared to fire and was backed against a tree. I fired a few shots at Zaku, which all hit him in the back. "Gah!" He dropped to the ground with blood stains all over his shirt, and there was also blood trickling out of his mouth. "You little bitch!" he yelled, and he got to his feet and pointed both arms at me. "I've had it with you! Let's see you survive this! _Slicing Sound Wave!_"

He fired an arc of wind at me from the holes in his hands, and I was in too much shock to dodge. Finally, I managed to get up and dive out of the way, letting the wind smash through the tree I had been leaning against. The tree smashed to the ground, and I was panting from the effort of trying to dodge, not being the most athletic person on the planet. He pointed his hand at me again, and I immediately countered with three blasts. "_Sound Wall!_" A wave of wind formed a wall around him, blocking the blasts, and leaving him unharmed. "_Slicing Sound Wave!_"

He fired a wave of wind at me, and I dived out of the way once more, letting the wave crash into the forest. "I've had enough of you," he said angrily, and he prepared to charge. A blast from behind missed his ear by about an inch, and he turned around to find Taylor pointing her blaster at him. "Oh, you want some too?" he said, turning on her. I fired three more blasts into his back, and he spun around, roaring in anger, and an enormous wave of wind shot from his hands, blowing me back and smashing me through a tree. I hit the ground, barely conscious, blood trickling from my mouth.

"Nichi!" Taylor screamed. Zaku then turned on her, and advanced at a leisurely walk. She was too scared to defend herself, and instead backed into a tree. I was just barely able to raise my blaster and fire, landing three rounds in the back of Zaku's head. "Gah!" Blood spattered the ground in front of him as he dropped on his face, and I knew we had killed him. I staggered to my feet and walked slowly over to him to examine his body. His eyes were closed, and he didn't appear to be breathing. And that was when I looked at his back, which was completely unharmed.

"Gotcha!" Zaku said, as his eyes opened and he bore a triumphant, evil smile. The ground around him exploded, sending me flying back, and landing ten feet away. I looked through half-opened eyes up at Zaku, who was on his feet and glaring down at me with a malevolent grin.

"You've gotten sloppy, Zaku," said the one with the bandages.

"Oh, shut up, Dosu, it's not like I've had a chance to fight in a while," Zaku said irritably.

"Hey, speaking of which, how long has it been since we were killed?" My eyes widened at this, wondering what on earth he was talking about.

"I don't know," Dosu admitted. "Although judging by the technology these little brats wield, I'd have to say it's been quite a while. Several years at least."

"Hey!" I yelled, rising back to my feet.

"Yeah, what is it?" Zaku said, looking at me with a grimace.

"You said 'since we were killed'. Does that mean…does that mean that the three of you are…are ghosts?" I asked, trembling at the thought.

Zaku's grimace turned into a grin filled with malice. "Heh, you could say that. In truth, our souls were bound to this earth through a jutsu called _Impure World Resurrection_. In actuality, these bodies of ours are really just corpses incased in dirt and dust, which took the form of our original bodies. It's a forbidden jutsu, and one of the most revered in the entire shinobi world," he gloated, noticing the terrified expression on my face. _What is this guy talking about?_ I asked in horror. Impure World Resurrection_? Forbidden jutsu? Shinobi World? Wait a minute…could this be what Matt was talking about?_

And then I flashed back to my conversation with him in Mid Rivers Mall. _"Last year, I was attacked by one of our teachers, Mr. Shoemaker. I was saved and brought to Japan, where I learned I was a shinobi. That's why I can perform all these jutsu. My chakra system inside of me is the fuel for these techniques. The reason I've been gone so much is because I had to do some stuff for the place I was at."_

Could this be what Matt was talking about? This place that he had been brought to? Could it have something to do with these people? Was that really what he had been hiding from me all this time? Why he could perform all these tricks? Well…what I did know for a fact was that these three were after Matt. And since he was out cold, it was up to me to protect him. With this thought in mind, I rose to my feet, ready to risk my life for him. "You're not very smart, are you?" Zaku said, his grin still present.

"Just to let you know, due to the _Impure World Resurrection_, _we can't be killed!_" With this, he pointed his arms at me and fired another wave of wind out of the holes in them. I watched it come, paralyzed with fear, but I finally managed to dive out of the way and let the wave smash into a tree. The tree was snapped in two, and it came crashing to the ground. I pointed my blaster at him and fired three times, hitting him all three times, but he leaped into the air as if I hadn't hit him at all and prepared to bring his hand down on top of me. I couldn't do anything while still on the ground, and Zaku collided his hand into my ribcage, unleashing a huge shockwave that blasted up dust and concealed us both. Taylor and Erin both watched in horror, Kin watched with a triumphant smile, and Dosu watched with an expressionless look.

The dust cleared, and Zaku stood triumphantly, his foot resting on top of me. I laid there, my eyes barely open and glazed over, and I had ripped clothes and blood all over me. I could tell that several of my ribs were broken from the impact, and I was completely unable to move. Zaku continued to look down at me, proud of his work. And then his eyes shifted into another direction, and he said, "It's about time."

I immediately knew what he was referring to, and I looked over at Matt. At first, I was happy that he was finally awake, but then I could tell…something was wrong. Matt rose to his feet, streaks of a purple aura spiraling around him, most of his upper body shrouded in shadow, his hand covered in spiked rock.


	89. Chapter 88: Blessing of the Serpent

BLESSING OF THE SERPENT

[_Third-person point-of-view_] The boy rose to his feet, enhanced with the power of darkness; a parallel of a certain other shinobi, who was also acknowledged as a genius.

[_Matt's point-of-view_] The rock on my hand glowed a fiery red, then receded back into my flesh to reveal black lines. The lines were like a tattoo that ran across my entire body, resembling cracks in the earth. _What's this feeling?_ I thought to myself. _I feel so much different than I used to. So much…so much stronger!_ Taylor and Erin looked at me, their eyes wider than anyone's I had ever seen. But I couldn't tell if it was out of fear or shock. The three strangers looked at me with anticipation, which instantly told me they had been expecting this. And then I noticed Nichi. On the ground, beaten to a bloody pulp, like some rabid dog. I looked up at the one with the spiky-black hair, who was smiling at me as if coaxing me to do something.

"You have to the count of three to get your disgusting foot off her," I warned him. "Three!" I said from right behind him with my fist raised. I swung, and my strength blasted up dust from the ground, concealing the kid. I laid Nichi gently on the ground twenty feet away, wiping some of the blood off of her face.

"Matt," she said weakly, staring into my eyes.

"Stay here and rest," I told her. "You've done enough." I straightened back up and turned around to look at the one who had attacked her. "Listen carefully, I'm only going to say this once," I told him. "I don't know who you are, and quite frankly, I don't give a damn. You hurt my friend and my family. Girls, no less. I have a really hard time letting people like you go free." As I said this, the purple aura around me intensified. "So before I kill you, I'm going to teach you a lesson about who to mess with…and who not to!" The instant the last word left my mouth, I charged him, coming up behind him with my fist raised. He just barely saw me coming and could only duck me, then roll out of the way.

I rapidly made six hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my fireball at him at point-blank range, leaving him with zero opening. The fireball hit him, sending a wave of flame roaring into the air, and I turned onto his two comrades.

"_Slicing Sound Wave!_" I disappeared in a burst of speed as a wave of wind rushed past, and I came out in a tree branch. The flames cleared, and the kid stood there, completely unharmed. He looked up at me with a manic grin that showed he was perfectly confident he was going to win this. I knew the moment I had seen their eyes that this wasn't going to be as easy as it appeared, but that didn't change the fact that they still didn't stand a chance against me. I made three hand signs and formed a _Chidori_, and the kid raised his arms to me.

I disappeared in a burst of speed, snapping the branch I had been standing on, and came out right behind him with the _Chidori_ raised. Blood spattered through the air, and the kid stood there with his eyes and mouth wide, while I looked at him, knowing I had won. He dropped to the ground with a massive gash going through his back, blood pooling under him. I waited, watching to see if he was actually dead. After a few seconds, he rose back to his feet and faced me, a crooked grin spread across his face.

"Alright, I'll bite," I said. "Why won't you die?"

"Well, to put it simply, kid, we're already dead," he answered.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, have you ever heard of a jutsu called _Impure World Resurrection_?" he asked me.

"Yeah, I read something about it one time," I answered, remembering back. "Apparently it's a type of _Summoning Jutsu_ that binds the soul of a dead person into a living sacrifice, which is encased in dust and dirt to make it look like the person you're summoning back. And any injury dealt to the corpse is instantly healed. Is that right?" I asked.

"Right on the money. Impressive, actually," the kid answered. "But you missed one small thing," he added. "The corpse has all the abilities of the soul bound to it." With this, he pointed his arms at me and said, "_Slicing Sound Wave!_" He fired another wave of wind at me, but I super-sped out of the way and came up ten feet above him.

"_Fire Style: Nova Flame!_" I fired a torrent of fire down on top of him, engulfing him completely and shielding him from view. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ to keep myself suspended in the air, watching to see what the kid would do next.

"_Slicing Sound Wave!_" I shot out of the way of a third wave of wind that shot into the sky, and I landed on the ground, making some hand signs. The kid charged out of the smoke and flames, a trail of wind coming from his hand.

"_Earth Style: Terra Shield!_" I bent down and placed my palms on the ground, and a rectangular slab of earth rose up, defending me from his attack. The kid rammed his hand into the shield, punching a clean hole in it, but the shield still remained in tact. I flew out of the way, and the paper-bomb I had placed on the shield detonated, blasting the wall apart and blowing the kid up. As I flew through the air, I threw a brigade of fire-kunai down at him, one after the other. They all landed in the smoke cloud, and the detonation of about a dozen paper-bombs sent smoke rising above the trees, and embers igniting the branches. I landed on one of the branches that wasn't in flames, and waited to see if that had done anything.

When the smoke cleared almost a minute later, I got a full observation at the damage I had caused. His left arm and almost all his chest had been blown clean off, and his body was riddled with gashes and burns from the assault. What really got me was the smile on his face, which portrayed more dementia than anything else I had ever seen. A substance appeared from out of nowhere, surrounding his body, and it embedded itself into all of his wounds, closing them up and leaving him as if he had never been touched.

"You've gotten slow, Zaku," the guy wrapped in bandages said.

"Shut up, Dosu," Zaku said. "He's better than I anticipated. But don't worry. I'll kill him in no time at all."

"Well then," I said, crouching down and preparing to go again, "it looks like I'm going to have to take this one step further."

"_Slicing Sound Wave!_" Zaku fired another wave of wind at me, but I super-sped out of the way, and let the attack rush into the forest. I came out right behind Zaku, having woven the Tiger seal.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I blew a torrent of intense flame out of my mouth at Zaku, who was caught head-on.

"Jesus," said Dosu. "He's always playing around. Even if it hadn't been for Orochimaru's damned jutsu, he'd have been dead a long time ago."

_Orochimaru?_ I thought to myself. The flames rose into the air, throwing off heat like an oven, and I looked into the light, wondering if that had done anything.

"_Slicing Sound Wave!_"

"You don't give up," I said as I dodged the attack. The flames cleared, and Zaku looked around, a maniacal grin on his face. He finally looked up, and saw me standing on the bottom of a tree branch directly above him, armed with a _Rasengan_. I shot down at him, propelled by my chakra, and hit Zaku with all my strength. The _Rasengan_ caused a giant shockwave that blasted dust into the air and concealed both myself and Zaku. I appeared five feet away from the dust cloud, waiting to see if I had finally gotten to him.

"Ha ha ha ha! Oh, you're strong, there's no doubt about it!" The dust cleared to reveal Zaku covered in blood, but healing.

"In fact, you might even be better than me! I've been going easy on you so far, but after having been killed by you six times now, it's more than obvious that isn't working! It's time to go all out! But don't get any ideas, because I guarantee ya you won't last two minutes against me! Now then, let's get this party started, shall we!?"

I stared at him, unbelieving of how much he had changed. He had been a hothead since the beginning of this fight, but now he was just insane. "We can keep going all day long, but the results won't change," I said, ready for whatever he had to bring.

"Oh, we'll see about that," Zaku said as he pointed his arms at me. "_Super Sound Wave!_" This blast was much stronger than the last ones, but I dodged it all the same. It also dawned on me that I needed to get Taylor and Erin out of here as well before they got hurt. I looked over at them and saw that they were both too scared to move. While in the air, I made some hand signs and fired a _Fireball_ down at Zaku. "_Slicing Sound Wave!_" He fired a burst of wind at the fireball, which blasted right through and shot at me.

"_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" My jutsu blocked Zaku's and left me completely unharmed. I landed on the ground and leaped onto a tree, waiting for Zaku's next move. However, Zaku didn't appear to be too keen on making a move. Instead, he looked confused, and a little shocked. "What?" I asked.

He remained silent for a moment, then said, "So far, I've seen you use _Fire Style_, _Lightning Style_, _Earth Style_, and now _Wind Style_. I've never seen anyone use four different Nature Types. Just what in the world are you?"

Noticing his fear, I smiled and said, "A _Rinnegan_-barer."

Zaku backed up in fear, and shouted, "Dosu!"

"I know!" Dosu responded, preparing to enter the fray himself.

"Wait, what? What's a _Rinnegan_?" the girl asked.

"You know of the Dokekkei genkai, bloodline traits residing in the eyes, the _Sharingan_ and _Byakugan_, right?" Dosu said.

"Yeah," the girl answered.

"Well there's a third one called the _Rinnegan_. And it is the strongest of the three. A barer of the _Rinnegan_ wields all six Chakra Natures of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Yin/Yang." For the record, Yin/Yang refers to jutsu like _Shadow Possession_ and _Human Boulder_, which don't fall under an elemental type.

"Wait, so he can use all six?" the girl asked, her eyes wide.

"That's right," I said as I made some hand signs. "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I fired a dozen balls of water down at Zaku, who dodged them easily, then fired another _Super Sound Wave_ at me. I dropped down from my tree branch and let the gust of wind fly into the forest, and I waited for Zaku to make the next move.

"_Blasting Sound Wave!_" He fired an enormous burst of wind at me that tore the ground apart along the way, and I super-sped out of the way. I came out right behind him and said,

"_Fire Style: Nova Flame!_" I fired my jutsu at him, engulfing him in flames. "If you think I'm done, you're dead wrong," I said as I made some more hand signs. "_Wind Style: Gust Current!_" Another of the jutsu I had acquired between the Sasuke mission and the anti-Decepticlone movement generated a gust of wind from my body that hit the flames and blew them up, causing a giant twister comprised entirely of fire. I jumped back in order to avoid getting blasted, and made even more hand signs while in the air. I landed on a tree branch and said,

"_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I fired about twenty balls of water at the twister, which hit all around it, and caused it to erupt into a giant explosion of steam, which was hot enough to burn Zaku to a crisp. Dosu and Kin watched with expressionless faces, while Taylor's and Erin's eyes and mouths were open with shock. The steam cleared to reveal a black and bloody corpse on the ground.

Dosu looked at Zaku's body, thinking, _Did he seriously…?_ And then, leaves and dust rose up from the ground, encasing Zaku's body.

I growled angrily, getting really irritated with this guy. His foot landed on the ground, and Zaku stood, hunched over, panting in exhaustion. "Okay…it's blatantly obvious that I could never beat you…but at least…maybe I can hurt you enough to open you up for what's coming." He pointed his arms at me, focused his chakra, and said, "_Super Sonic Slicing Wave!_" This time, the burst of wind was bigger than anything he had fired off in the past, and it came at me with more than enough power to kill me in one blow.

The wave hit, tearing the ground apart and sending dust blowing through the air. Zaku stood there, panting in exhaustion, wondering if he had finally gotten me. After about fifteen seconds, he broke into a relieved grin and said, "Ha hah! It looks like I must have caught him off guard!" Several minutes passed, during which Taylor and Erin gradually grew more and more scared. Something came down on top of Zaku, knocking him around to face me. I was on all fours, and I sent my foot into his chin, sending him flying into the air. He was knocked senseless, but when he regained awareness of what was going on around him, he noticed me, flying right below and parallel with him.

"_Lion's Barrage!_" I brought my leg up and down on top of him, followed through with my fist into his stomach, then finished up with a second fist and a final kick into his stomach. He was sent flying down into the trees, but was caught by some invisible force. I dropped down and pulled the tripwire attached to my arms, and when I landed, the wire trap that Zaku was caught in wrapped around him, binding his arms and legs. "If I can't kill you," I said, "my only option is to keep you from moving." With this, I rose to my feet, facing Dosu and the other girl.

"Alright," Dosu said, raising his arm, which had a giant metal gauntlet on it laced with holes. "Now your fight is with me."


	90. Chapter 89: Dosu Kinuta

DOSU KINUTA

I pointed a kunai at Dosu, who rose his gauntlet-adorned arm.

"Hold on," said the girl, stepping forward and coming between Dosu and I.

"Kin, what are you doing?" Dosu asked.

"There's no reason for you to have to take on this kid. I'm stronger than Zaku; I'll have no problem taking him down-guh!"

"You might want to rethink that statement," I said from right beside her, my fist in her stomach.

She spat out blood and dropped to the ground, leaving only Dosu left. "Well, kid, you've had a hell of a run," Dosu said to me, "but it looks like you're at your limit."

It was true. I was now panting from lack of chakra, and most of my muscles were aching. Dosu raised his arm, adorned with that metal gauntlet, and he charged me with his fist raised. I raised my own arm and used it to block him. It looked like I had succeeded, but then an unworldly sound reached my ears, like a hundred birds chirping, but magnified a thousand times. My ear started bleeding, and I dropped to my knees, my eyes wide in shock. Dosu raised his arm and prepared to finish me, but his eyes widened, and I was gone.

Dosu started looking for me, and I was in a tree, panting in exhaustion. I ducked down as a shuriken landed in a tree, and I turned around to see Dosu glaring up at me. "Okay, it looks like you're a little bit stronger than I anticipated," I said to him, "but that doesn't change the fact that you'll never be able to beat me."

"Oh, really?" Dosu said as he raised his gauntlet-adorned arm. "Would you care to test that theory?"

"Let's go," I said as I held up eight shuriken. I threw them all down at him, but he charged me, avoiding them all. I already knew that regular jutsu wouldn't cut it against him, so I would just have to hit him with so much force that he would be rendered unable to fight, and then bind him like I did Zaku. I placed my arm on Dosu's shoulder, and flipped over him, landing right behind him and putting a kunai right in his back. I leaped out of the way as the paper-bomb around the handle detonated, blasting a crater into the ground and shrouding Dosu in smoke. I landed in a tree branch and made some hand signs, then fired a _Nova Flame Jutsu _down at him as well.

The blast of fire caused a cloud of flame to rise into the air, igniting trees and sending burning timbers raining across the ground. I took out eight more shuriken and threw them at Dosu, and the tripwire attached to each of them started to wrap around him, binding him in place. "Hah! Nice try!" Dosu said. He raised his arm and flicked the gauntlet, sending a sonic wave that knocked the tripwire out of the air and left him completely unharmed. By the time he had dropped his arm, I was right in front of him with my fist raised, and I sent him flying through the air, and smacking into a tree. Ten shuriken flew past him, a tripwire attached to each, and I pulled them all around, making the wires wrap around him and tie him to a tree.

I wanted to use _Dragon Flame_, but I realized just in time that if I used a jutsu that powerful, it would put me on my knees. And then I realized I didn't need to do anything at all. Dosu was bound, he couldn't move, and he couldn't attack anyone. I relaxed my guard, and then I realized what was behind me. An explosion of dust sent rubble flying through the air, and I flew backwards out of the cloud, and landed twenty feet away. I looked over and saw that what I had bound was a _Substitution_.

Dosu walked menacingly out of the dust, with his gauntleted arm raised. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a vile of green liquid. The glass was cracked from all of my fights, but I pulled out the cork and drank about a quarter of it. The moment I did, steam began to rise from my wounds, and they gradually closed up. I also felt much of my chakra being restored, meaning I could go a whole lot longer than I would have otherwise. Dosu glared at me, and said, "So you've got some miracle potion, eh? Well, I guess you're not immortal like us, so maybe I'll let it slide."

He charged me with his arm raised, and I super-sped out of the way, allowing him to storm past. While twenty feet in the air, I fired a _Phoenix Flower_ down at him, but he raised his arm, the holes in his gauntlet pointed outward, and a sonic wave emanated from them, blowing the fireballs out. I landed on the ground and charged him, and Dosu raised his fist and waited for me to come. I ducked his punch and aimed my own fist at his gut, but he hopped over me, grabbing the scruff of my neck, and when he landed right behind me, he pulled me back and threw me across the ground. I rolled to my feet with the Tiger sign weaved, and I fired a _Fireball_ out of my mouth at him.

Dosu leaped out of the way, and came down on top of me with his fist raised, and I pulled out a kunai and waited for him. I rammed my knife right between his knuckles and into his hand, but his bone knocked my knife out of my hand, and Dosu landed right next to me. He put the back of his fist in the side of my face, knocking me away and sending me rolling across the ground. I came out ten feet away, starting to get irritated, and I watched as the wound in Dosu's hand healed, and he readied himself to go again. I braced myself, then charged at light-speed, and Dosu put his arm out in front of him to defend himself. I rammed my fist into the metal gauntlet, causing a _clang _to ring through the air, and we both stood there, not moving an inch.

Blood ran down my hand from my knuckles, which had been cracked open from the impact, and dripped onto the ground. I pulled out a fire-kunai and landed it in the ground, then leaped back just before the explosion blew a crater into the ground. I landed on a tree branch and waited to see what had happened to Dosu, and he walked out of the smoke cloud, looking like he hadn't even been hit. "It'll take far more than that if you hope to defeat me," he said to me. The problem with this was I didn't have much more to give. I had managed to take Zaku by surprise with my tripwire trap, but Dosu would be expecting that now, which meant he would be much harder to ensnare. I was on the verge of running, when a burning sensation spread across my entire body, and the black lines flared fiery red, then immediately went back to black.

As soon as this happened, a feeling of renewed strength coursed through my body, and I knew I could beat this poser. I made three hand signs and bent down to the ground, then formed a surge of lighting in my hand. I braced to charge, but Dosu went first, coming at me with his fist raised. I brought my _Chidori_ down and smashed it into the ground, then forced a surge of chakra out, and caused an explosion that tore the ground apart, caught Dosu, and sent him skidding back. I was in the air, and I kicked him in the side of the face, sending him rolling across the ground, and when he came to a stop, I landed half a dozen kunai in various parts around his body.

Blood spattered across the ground from his wounds, but he got to his feet nonetheless and wrenched the kunai out of his body. His wounds immediately started closing up, and when they were gone, he pulled out a kunai of his own and prepared to go again. I disappeared and came out right behind him, and he couldn't turn around in time to see me punch him in the back, sending him flying through the air and smashing into a tree. He fell to the ground in a heap, but immediately got back to his feet. As I walked towards him, I popped the bones in my neck, then my fists, and prepared to use full taijutsu on him. Dosu rose to his feet, and charged me with his fist raised.

I grabbed the underside of his wrist, then kneed him in the stomach, and threw him past me, sending him crashing to the ground. Dosu placed the palm of his gauntleted hand on the ground, and said, "_Sound Pulse!_" The ground was blasted apart by a wave of pure sound, and the shockwave knocked me off my feet, half-burying me in rubble. When I opened my eyes, Dosu was standing over me, with a malevolent look in his eye.

I swiftly formed some hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew out a fireball at him, which engulfed his entire body and caused ten-foot flames to rise up from the ground. I appeared on a tree branch thirty feet away from where I had been, and braced myself as a wave of sound flew out of the flames. I super-sped out of the way as the wave blew through the trees, and I landed on the ground, with Dosu right in front of me, his fist raised. A wave of sonic blasted from his gauntlet, and blood spattered from my ear as I grunted and dropped to the ground. Dosu stomped on my chest, and raised his fist, preparing to finish me. I grabbed his ankle, and activated a _Chidori_ current that ran through his entire body, making him scream in pain as he was blasted off of me.

I rose back to my feet, and wiped the blood off the side of my face from my ear, then waited for Dosu to rise as well. Dosu rose halfway, then placed his palm on the ground, and sent another pulse of sound across the ground, but this one was directed towards me, tearing the ground apart in a line. I leaped out of the way, and Dosu threw a kunai up at me, but I blocked it with a knife of my own, and threw that down at him. Dosu blocked it with the gauntlet on his arm, and then sent another wave of sound up at me. I super-sped out of the way just before it hit me, and came out behind him, bent to the ground.

"Don't think I'll fall for that trick," Dosu said, as he swiped his arm down at me. A small explosion blasted the ground apart and shrouded me in dust, but I slid out of the opposite end with my arms and legs in the air, which then dropped. I got to my feet and leaped out of the way as Dosu came on top of me and buried his fist in the ground. He made a one-handed sign, and another linear wave of sound tore the ground apart as it came towards me.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Shield!_" I bent down and placed my palm on the ground, and a wall of earth rose up to defend me. The sound wave ran into it and blasted it apart, sending large chunks of rubble through the air and knocking me off my feet. Blood ran down the left side of my face from where a rock hit me, and I was panting in exhaustion. Dosu charged me with his fist raised, and I could only cross my arms in defense and hope for the best. He connected his fist with my shield, and a massive explosion covered a ten-foot area in dust. Dosu leaped backwards out of the cloud, and landed ten feet away. A purple light shone through the cloud, and the dust was blown away.

I was on my feet with a purple _Chidori_ raging in my hand, packed with far more strength than the original. Dosu's eyes were wide in shock, and he could only stand there and gaze in horror. I brought the jutsu back, and then charged forward, taking advantage of Dosu's temporary helplessness. I brought the purple _Chidori_ forward and rammed it into Dosu's body, causing a massive explosion that sent smoke and flames rising above the forest, while birds flew away. A minute later, the smoke cleared, and I was standing there, with my foot pressing down on what remained of Dosu's body.

There was a clean hole where half of his torso had been blown away by my jutsu. After about thirty seconds of nothing happening, I turned around and walked off. When I was about twenty feet away, I heard a rustling noise behind me and looked. Dosu was on his feet, with the hole in his body gradually closing. About thirty seconds later, he was fully healed, and I prepared to go again.

"Hold on," he said, and I noticed the hint of desperation in his voice. "Look, my team and I were told to test your strength. It's obvious now that we could never defeat you." He took out a kunai and threw it to his left, and it severed the tripwire trap ensnaring Zaku, who dropped to the ground. Dosu walked over to his teammate, who picked up the girl. I waited for someone to make a move, but no one did. "The next time we meet on the battlefield, I promise you the results will be different," Dosu said, and he turned around and leapt off.

"See ya, kid," Zaku said, and he followed his teammate.


	91. Chapter 90: My Turn

MY TURN

I dropped to my knees, and the black lines around my body burned fiery-red. Then, they gradually receded back into my body, and into the original mark on my neck. I was panting in exhaustion, and my vision was blurry. Taylor and Erin walked over to me, then dropped as well, examining my injuries. We heard rustling in the bushes behind me, and we looked to see Nichi stumbling out, using the trees for support. She was looking straight into my eyes, the fear replaced with concern. She tried to walk forward, but swayed forward, and Taylor and Erin ran over to catch her. They supported her as she walked over, and then dropped in front of me.

"What are you?" she asked.

"I have no idea," I answered. And then, the reality of her question struck me like an electric shock. I hadn't realized how brutally I had fought until now. What must it have looked like to the three of them, the bystanders, who had never seen normal shinobi combat, let alone the kind that had been displayed today? A ringing echoed from Nichi's communicator, which opened up to reveal McKinley's face.

"Girls, I'm just calling to check up on-" she started, and then she saw me. "I thought you were gone," she said to me. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, nothing much, just saving your team, the usual stuff," I said irritably. And then she saw the extent of our injuries.

"What in the world happened to you two?" she asked Nichi and I.

Nichi looked at me to answer, and I said, "A team of shinobi found them, looking for me. One of them beat Nichi up pretty badly, but in all honesty, she put up a hell of a fight. I joined in, and managed to beat them off. They're gone now, but I don't know for how long."

McKinley seemed deeply disturbed by this. "Do you have any idea what they were after?" she asked.

"Well, Orochimaru was the one who sent them, so I doubt it can be anything good."

McKinley's eyes widened, and she said, "So Orochimaru's wrapped up in this too, huh? Great. Just when things couldn't get any worse."

"How's the Decepticlone hunt going?" I asked.

"We have teams across the globe fighting them. There are over a hundred thousand of them, and we're a little short-handed right now, so any assistance you can give us would be awesome," she said to me.

I thought for a second, then said, "I think I know of some people who would be happy to help." We heard rustling in the bushes, and looked. Taylor, Erin and Nichi all gasped in horror as a human-sized robot stepped out, wielding a staff tipped at one end with a blade and a metal ball at the other. "Gonna have to call you back," I said to McKinley, and communication was cut.

"It's a shockmace," I said to them. "I take it you've encountered one already?"

"Yeah, we fought one in the mall. We just barely beat it," Nichi told me.

"Well, let's see how I can do," I said as I prepared to go in. And that was when an almost unbearable pain ripped across my body. I was paralyzed in pain, and I dropped to my knees, my arms wrapped around my stomach. Had the battle with Zaku and Dosu really been that hard on me? Or was this just the aftereffects of the Curse Mark? Whichever it was, it was going to seriously sabotage my ability to fight the shockmace. Regardless, I rose back to my feet and pulled out a kunai. The shockmace twirled its staff around in its hand, and then pointed the bladed end at me, prepared for a fight.

I could tell my chakra was extremely low, so low that I didn't even want to risk using a _Fireball_. This in mind, I asked Nichi, "Hey, where's that Mini-Con at?"

She got a guilty look on her face, and said, "While we were fighting the first one, he got destroyed."

I chose not to say anything as I registered what she had just informed me, shock slowly making its way across my body, and I turned back to the shockmace.

"Hey, wait a minute, where's your blaster?" Erin asked, noticing it wasn't on my arm.

"Oh," I said, examining my arm as well. "Well, when I rammed that knife into the communicator, it also screwed up the firing function, and when I pulled the trigger, it backfired and exploded. Damn near blew my arm off."

I flexed my fingers, and Nichi saw the burns on my arm from where the blaster had exploded. "Anyway, no weapons, no chakra, this is going to be lots of…oh, hell yes." I looked past the shockmace and out of the small patch of trees we were in, and saw a yellow light. The shockmace turned around as well, saw the Mini-Con, then charged up electricity in its staff. It waved its staff through the air and sent a wave of electricity at us, tearing up the ground as it engulfed us in smoke. The shockmace relaxed its guard, but a fist plowed into its face, and I shoved it as far away as I possibly could, sending him rolling across the ground.

"Hold him here," I said to the girls behind me, and I ran for the Mini-Con while they all started firing at the shockmace. The shockmace got to its feet, acting as if it were being hit by a hailstorm of mosquitoes instead of bullets, and then started blocking them all with its staff. I bent down next to the Mini-Con, and the light ceased and the shell opened up. The shockmace finally started getting sick of the girls, and charged up electricity in its staff, then put the bladed end in the ground, sending an arc of it through the earth that knocked Nichi, Taylor and Erin off their feet.

Nichi started to get back up, but the shockmace was standing over her, and brought its blade down on top of her. An arm covered in red armor intercepted the blow, suffering a small scratch in the metal. Nichi gasped when she saw me. My entire body was covered in red armor except for my head, and I kicked the shockmace's feet out from under it, putting it on the ground. I used all my strength to bend the shaft of the staff, almost folding it completely over and breaking it in two, before the shockmace kicked me in the stomach and sent me flying five feet away.

The shockmace rose to its feet and examined its staff, which was now all but useless, then threw it aside and raised its fists. I got to my feet as well, and took up a fighting position similar to the shockmace, ready to go. We both charged in, and I sent my fist in, but the shockmace blocked it with its arm, and then bent down and tried to sweep my feet out from under me. I jumped the attack, and kicked the shockmace in the jaw, knocking it back and leaving it wide open for an assault. I put my fist in its stomach, then grabbed its face and rammed it into my knee, followed up by me spinning around and tripping it up.

The shockmace fell to the ground, and I stomped on its chest, pinning it. I popped my knuckles, but the shockmace knocked me off with its fist, and I fell to the ground. The shockmace pivoted around on its hands, then landed its foot in my chest, sending me sliding back across the ground. The shockmace rose to its feet and walked over to me, and brought its foot down on top of my face. I blocked it with my arm, my endurance increased by the armor, and I shoved the shockmace off, then rose to my feet. The shockmace thrust its fist at my face, but I caught it, and sent my own fist into its face, my strength increased by my armor, and I tore the robot's head clean off, sending it rolling across the ground.

The robot stood for a moment, then dropped to the ground motionless. The armor detached from my body and dropped to the ground, then started rolling into one spot. All of the pieces started attaching to each other, and when all was said and done, a two-foot-tall robot stood there, red in color, and humanoid in shape except for oversized arms. The girls ran over, and I said, "We gotta find more of these things." With this, I was now officially back with the team, and we decided to head north to search for more decepticlones.

We walked through an endless prairie, looking for signs of anything out of the ordinary, when we heard a loud beeping sound. We looked over and saw a sentry drone just as it sent a flare up into the air. "Great," I said as I put a kunai right in its center, sending it crashing to the ground. We watched as a drop ship loomed over the horizon, and dropped something we had never encountered before. It was seven feet tall, had four metal-plated legs, which connected to a dual-barrel turret, which was trained right on us. "Get back," I said, as the Mini-Con converted back into the armor, and attached itself to my body.

The decepticlone, known as a spider tank, started firing at me, but I blocked it with my arms. The armor sustained scorch marks where the blasts hit, and I could tell it wasn't going to be able to take much more of that. I still didn't have much chakra, but I did have enough to fire off a few jutsu. Despite this, I still had to use it wisely, as the best I could do was one _Dragon Flame_, four _Fireballs_, two _Nova Flames_, sixty _Phoenix Flowers_, and ten _Dragon Darts_. And that was separately; that was what I could do if I only used those individual jutsu and nothing else. I might have enough for a _Rasengan_, but _Chidori_ was out of the question. And I didn't want to risk having to use the Curse Mark again, as I knew what it would do to me after the fight. Oh well. It looked like I would have to make due with what I had.

I super-sped straight at the spider tank, faster than it could register, and I leaped in an arc over it, and landed behind it, kicking out its leg. The spider tank brought its leg up, and I had to roll out of the way to avoid getting stomped, and I pulled out a kunai and swiped it across its leg. The blade broke off on impact, and I threw the handle away and leaped off as the spider tank fired down at me. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Nova Flame!_" I fired a large torrent of flame down at the spider tank, but the spider tank walked out of the way, and then fired up at me some more. I dived out of the way of most of the blasts, but sustained a hit to the leg, and I landed on the ground, and pulled out a fire-kunai.

The spider tank fired, and I immediately threw some weapons. The shuriken intercepted the blasts, and I threw the fire-kunai at the spider-tank, which exploded against its leg. When the smoke cleared, the spider tank had some serious scorch marks on its leg, but was otherwise unharmed. It fired some more blasts at me, but I leaped into the air to avoid them. The spider tank braced itself, and began charging up a light-blue ball of energy between its turrets. While I was still in the air, the tank fired a powerful beam right at me, that I knew I couldn't dodge.

I put my arms out to defend myself, but the beam pierced through my armor, nearly taking my arm off, and blasted off a chunk of my breastplate, and sent blood spattering from a gash in my side. I landed on the ground twenty feet away with gashes in my side, and in my arm where the beam first hit. The armor then fell off, and reconstructed back into the small robot, who was on its knees, with holes in its side and its arm. Same as where I had been hit. "You stay back too," I said as I rose back to my feet.

I made a single hand sign, and said, "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured three clones, which all pulled out kunai and charged. The spider tank fired, taking one out, while the other two leaped at it. The spider tank brought its front leg up and knocked one of the clones away, while the final one got on its head and tried to ride it like a horse. The spider tank tried to throw it off, with little success, while the clone it had knocked away earlier rose to its feet and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" The clone fired a fireball right at the spider tank, engulfing it completely in flames and eradicating the clone.

The clone that had fired the jutsu dropped to its knees, having been one hundred percent drained of chakra (which kills shinobi 99.9 percent of the time), and disappeared in a puff of smoke as well. The flames cleared, and the spider tank was still standing, and the sounds of birds chirping got its attention. Fresh from having just built up my chakra, I had a white _Chidori_ raging in my hand, as opposed to purple, and I bent down and charged the spider tank. The spider tank braced and charged up another beam, and fired before I could get there.

I knew there was no dodging it, until my eyes flashed red then immediately went back to green, and it was like my senses and reflexes had just been doubled. I saw the beam coming in slow motion, and I ducked it with ease as I continued my charge, then leaped at the spider tank and tore its head off with the _Chidori_. I landed on the other side, and the spider tank's body crashed to the ground, while I walked back over to the girls. "Are you okay?" Nichi asked me.

"Yeah," I answered, "but he's not." I gestured to the Mini-Con, who limped over with its hand covering the wound in the opposite arm. "I have a hard time just letting him die," I said as I watched the Mini-Con's pitiful state. Then, Nichi's communicator rang.

"We have a problem," Nichi said to McKinley, and she trained the screen onto the Mini-Con.

McKinley examined it for a moment, then said, "I think I have the solution." With this, a white beam emanated from the screen unto the Mini-Con, which then disappeared, followed by the beam.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"We teleported the Mini-Con here for repairs," McKinley answered. "In the meantime, why don't you have this back?" The white beam reappeared, and out of it came the first Mini-Con we had collected. It was shiny new, as if it had never even seen combat.

"That's awesome!" I said excitedly.

"Now listen up, because I'm going to explain how the ammo on the Mini-Cons works," she said.

"Yeah, that would be a big help," I said, remembering back to my first time using the rocket launcher, and how one minute it appeared to be out of ammo, but then a few minutes later, it was reloaded again.

"The truth is these robots don't run on ammo. They have a clip that runs out, just like any other projectile-type weapon, but after a certain period of time, the ammo will be fully restored. Now, this happens at a gradual process, so if you wait half the amount of time it takes to load the entire clip, you'll get the results of half a clip. To be more specific, this Mini-Con's clip contains two pairs of twin rockets. If you wait sixty seconds, both pairs will be restored. If you wait thirty seconds, one pair will be restored. Simple enough?" she asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Oh, and one more thing," she added. "Each and every Mini-Con has its own name. That one there is known as Flashbang. The one I beamed back here for repairs is Safeguard. If you use a Mini-Con enough, and it learns to trust you, it will tell you its name." With this, she hung up and left us to our duties.

Then, an unidentifiable noise got my attention, and I turned around. As the sound gradually got louder, I recognized what it was. A helicopter flew overhead towards us, and Nichi said, "Are those more decepticlones?"

"No," I answered. "That's not a decepticlone."


	92. Chapter 91: Cyclonus

The day after next week's chapter is released will be the second anniversary of the series. That also means that the next "movie" will be released as well. It'll be long (as in much, much longer than Book of the Gods), but it should be a nice return to pace for those of you who prefer the old Naruto Chronicles.

* * *

CYCLONUS

The helicopter blocked out the sunlight, and I knew exactly what we were facing. The helicopter started transforming in the same way as Starscream, and a seven-foot-tall robot landed heavily on the ground.

"And who might you be?" I asked.

"I am Cyclonus," the robot answered with a confident grin.

The Mini-Con transformed into a rocket launcher and attached to my wrist, and I pointed it at him. "Ooh, a Mini-Con. I'm soo scared," he said sarcastically. "Well, how bout you meet mine?" With this, a small red and gray robot ran forward, and transformed into a missile launcher, which attached to Cyclonus's wrist. "His name's Lock-On. Now then, you ready?" he asked me.

"Let's do it," I answered. All of my chakra had been consumed by that last _Chidori_, which meant I only had my rocket launcher to fight him with. I fired a pair of rockets at him, but Cyclonus rolled out of the way, and fired a missile at me. I rolled out of the way as well, but the missile turned out to be a homer, which readjusted course and hit me in the shoulder. "Gagh!" I was sent flying back and rolling across the ground, with my shirt ripped and blood running down my arm. I managed to fire off another pair of rockets, but Cyclonus rolled out of the way once more, and then waited for me to get back to my feet.

"Can't kill ya too quickly. Then it wouldn't be any fun," he said with a leering grin. Finally, I decided to say screw it and got back to my feet. I took out Tsunade's vial, and put a drop on my tongue. My chakra instantly started regenerating, and within seconds, I was back in full. I super-sped straight at Cyclonus, who was taken by surprise. The sound of metal being ripped apart echoed through the air, and I stood ten feet behind Cyclonus, with a _Chidori_ in my hand. Cyclonus had a gaping hole in his side, which had circuits of electricity flowing around it, and he pressed against it with his hand, then turned to face me.

"Okay. You got me with a lucky shot. But trust me, it won't happen again!" "Oh really?" I asked him. "If that's so, then what's that on your leg there?" I pointed to his left leg, and he looked down to see a paper-bomb stuck to it. "What in the world is that?" he asked, and then it detonated. He was completely engulfed in the explosion, and I aimed the rocket launcher and fired two pairs of rockets. The rockets caused the explosion to grow ten feet tall, and sent flames roaring into the air. I was perfectly calm now, knowing that Starscream had obviously been one of the stronger Decepticons.

That was when the smoke burst apart, and Cyclonus came flying at me so fast he was a blur. I didn't even have time to register what was going on before he rammed me with his elbow and sent me into the dirt. When I came to, he was pointing his missile launcher down at me. His body was riddled with tears in the metal, but he didn't seem to be too fazed by it. I was, however, impressed to see his leg was still attached, as I figured the paper-bomb would have blown it clean off. "Now then," Cyclonus said, "you've pissed me off, ya little runt, so I'm gonna just kill you now and get it over with, then I'll have some fun with those girls over there."

With this, he fired a missile down at me. My reflexes from having fought for a year now allowed me to roll out of the way of the missile, but I was still blasted back by the explosion, with my ears ringing. I looked up and saw Cyclonus standing over me, his fist raised. I tried to block him, but his strength sent me into the ground, forming a crater and leaving my arms feeling as if they were broken. I rolled over and attempted to get back to my feet, but Cyclonus grabbed my leg and hauled me into the air, then brought me back down and slammed me into the hard earth. My head cracked open, sending blood streaming to the ground, but I still managed to kick his wrist, making him let go of me, and I got back to my feet and leaped away.

_Okay,_ I thought to myself. _Underestimating him was obviously a mistake. But no matter. I'll just feel him out, get a taste of his abilities, and then I'll go in for the kill._ A burning feeling emanated from my neck, but I chose to ignore it, and aimed my rocket launcher, known as Flashbang, at Cyclonus. Cyclonus pointed Lock-On at me, and we both fired at the same time. His one missile collided into one of my rockets, causing an explosion that knocked the other rocket out of the air. I used the distraction to charge in, and I thrust my fist at him, only to be intercepted by Cyclonus's arm.

Blood dripped from my knuckles, and Cyclonus grabbed my wrist, pulled me in, and put his other fist in my stomach. And that was when I noticed the blaster on his wrist. He fired it, making it feel like there was a hole in my stomach, but I didn't feel anything come out the other side, which was a good sign. Despite this, I still spat out blood, and dropped to the ground. Cyclonus pointed Lock-On down at me, preparing to finish me, but then several blasts hit him in the face and upper-chest, making him look over at the girls. "Oh, so you want some now, huh? Well come over here!"

With this, Cyclonus walked towards them, leaving me on the ground. I lobbed a fire-kunai at him, which bounced off his propeller, and exploded right next to him. When the smoke cleared, he was still facing the girls, but his head was turned to look at me. "You ought not have done that, kid," he said as he pointed Lock-On at me. He fired, and I fired a pair of rockets in return, which intercepted the missile and allowed me to get back to my feet. I bent down and formed a _Chidori_, which I prepared to charge him with. Cyclonus bent down as well, preparing to counter me, but then he smiled and said, "Well, will ya look at that? It seems we have some company."

My eyes widened, and I turned around to see two drop ships hovering there. Their cargo doors opened, and five serges jumped down, while two medium units in each stayed aboard to provide covering fire. I fired a pair of rockets at each ship, and a medium unit was blown to bits in one, while one in the other ship was knocked off and smashed to pieces on the ground. Immediately afterwards, I rolled out of the way of three rockets, while the fourth just barely missed my leg. I rose back to my feet, when a missile hit me in the back, knocking me down again and making me knock out a tooth when my mouth hit the ground.

I just barely managed to back out of the way of one of the serges' swords, which he then swiped at my neck, but just barely missed. Two blasts from the medium units hit my arm, and I knew I wasn't going to last much longer like this. I turned to the girls and screamed, "Run!" They stayed put, not wanting to leave, their eyes wide in fear. "Run! Now! I'll find you, I promise! Get going!" Taylor and Erin eventually did as they were told, but Nichi stayed behind. I looked her meaningfully in the eyes, silently swearing to her that I would make it out of this alive, and she then turned around and ran as well.

_Well, looks like this is the end,_ I said as I rose to my feet. _But if I'm going down, I'm going down fighting. And I'm _not_ going to leave Cyclonus to go and hunt down my friends and family._ I made the Tiger sign, and an aura of chakra burst to life around me. My hands dropped to my sides, the aura still flaring around me, and I glared at Cyclonus. "I ain't going down alone," I said to him defiantly. He was grinning cheekily at me, and he said, "Well, I love to see a fighter. You know, we could really use someone like you. What say we let you live, and you come work for us?"

"You wanna know what I say?" I said as I held out my hand. "I say this; _Rasengan!_" I formed the spiraling ball of chakra in my palm, and Cyclonus pointed Lock-On at me. One of the serges lunged at me with its sword raised, but I pointed Flashbang at it, and the Mini-Con independently fired a pair of rockets, knocking it out of the air. With this, I brought the _Rasengan_ back, and I then charged Cyclonus. His propeller started spinning, and he charged me, his movements made a blur. He collided his fist with my _Rasengan_, and only through the momentum of his attack did he avoid losing a hand.

Both of our arms were forced back, chips of metal flying through the air from what damage he did take, and I distinctly noticed the blade of a sword coming at me. I managed to duck it, and I elbowed the owner serge in the stomach, then made some hand signs and tore its head off with a _Chidori_. Two blasts hit my back, and I spun around and lobbed four fire-kunai at one of the drop-ships. The explosion blew the ship into the other one, causing them both to drop to the ground in a firestorm, and I was then surrounded on all sides by serge blades. I pulled out two kunai and managed to block the first two slashes, but the third caught me in the back, and the fourth grazed my upper arm.

I didn't even show pain as I parried three more attacks, and that was when one of Cyclonus's blasts landed in my leg. I dropped both kunai and landed at a kneel, and one of Lock-On's missiles landed in my chest, but I rose back to my feet to avoid being knocked down, stumbling back several steps instead. The serges all came in front of me, and I was blasted with three rockets, causing one huge explosion that sent me flying back twenty feet. I landed face-down and spat out blood, with gashes and burns all over me. "Why don't you just give up now?" Cyclonus said.

"No," I told him. "I'll never give in to you." I pulled out Tsunade's vial and uncorked it. "No matter how much you shoot me, no matter how much you blow me up, I'll take you all down!" And I drank the entire thing.

An enormous burst of chakra surrounded me, and I got to my feet, forming a _Chidori _in either hand. One of the serges tried to cut me, but I blocked it with a _Chidori_ and cut his arm off, then went for his head. I blocked a rocket, and a second serge stepped in. I immediately got around his guard, cutting him in several places before he dropped to the ground in a wrecked pile. Cyclonus watched the destruction with his jaw ajar, and he pointed his blaster at me, trying to get a good shot. I cut the sword off the third serge, then put a _Chidori_ in his chest, making him drop as well.

I caught the final serge's slash with both hands and smashed his sword, making him stumble back. I put a _Chidori_ in his rocket pack, making all of his rockets explode and blast him to pieces, and I charged Cyclonus. I noticed his eyes were wide with fear now. He tried to punch me, but I cleaved his arm off, then tore a _Chidori_ across his chest. I spun around, cutting him across the chest two more times, then cancelled both _Chidoris_ and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Flame of the Phoenix!_" An enormous burst of flame shot form my mouth, eradicating Cyclonus completely and sending his parts cascading across the ground.

I appeared twenty feet away, fresh from a burst of speed, with a small red robot in my hand. I set Lock-On on the ground, and Flashbang detached from my wrist, transforming into a robot and landing next to Lock-On. They both started uttering some weird, robotic noises, and I had to guess they were communicating. I could only hope that Flashbang was trying to convince Lock-On to join us. After a few moments, they both looked at me, and I had to guess we had a new friend. "Matt!" Nichi, Taylor and Erin were running over, examining the wreckage of the battlefield.

I smiled at Nichi, silently telling her 'I told you so', and she smiled back. I looked down at all of my wounds, and saw that they were all completely healed, as if they had never existed. Even the scars from previous fights were gone without a trace. However, that left us down to four vials of Tsunade's medicine. And I didn't know how much we were going to need against the Decepticons. Nichi's communicator rang, and McKinley appeared, looking very distressed.

"What's up?" I asked her.

"We have a very big problem," she answered.

"Oh, boy," I said with sarcastic excitement, wondering what was so urgent.

"A large force of decepticlones has gathered at the Mississippi River," she informed us, "and they're preparing to launch an attack against St. Peters."


	93. Chapter 92: Arming Up

ARMING UP

I stood there in complete shock, hoping I had heard her wrong. "How big?" I asked her.

"Unconfirmed," she answered. "But big enough to wipe out any resistance the military can offer. Unfortunately, every agent we can spare is out fighting them elsewhere, so it's up to the four of you."

"Well then we're screwed," I said simply. McKinley didn't look particularly pleased with my response. "Look, I just came to terms with my own mortality not five minutes ago with a small battalion. To be perfectly honest, the thought of facing a full battle force frightens me. And I don't get frightened by much, lemme tell ya."

It seemed McKinley could sympathize with these emotions, but it didn't change the fact that she missed the brave and (as I now realize) stupid me. Well brave and stupid me is gone. I've had several situations when survival looked somewhat iffy, like the fight with Hatsuji, and the fight with Sasuke, and even the fight with Naruto, not to mention several times against the decepticlones. There was also the fight with Hinata, where I was sure I was going to die, but a small part of me knew I was going to live. But this time was completely different. This time, the thought of survival was alien to me. I knew a hundred and ten percent I wouldn't make it through the day. And while at the time I was fine with it, now, I shudder every time I think about what could have happened.

After a moment, McKinley said, "Well, I can offer you some mild assistance."

"What? Anything!" I said desperately.

"I've pinpointed the locations of three Mini-Cons in your area. They're all within a mile of you, but they're guarded. Nothing too drastic, but you want to be careful nonetheless. I'll sync them to the GPS built in to your blasters. Oh, and you should take this as well." A white light appeared from the blaster, and out stepped Safeguard, to join Flashbang and Lock-On.

"Good luck," she said, and the transmission ended. Nichi looked at her blaster, on the screen where transmissions usually came in, and she found a grid with a large orange circle in the center, and three smaller yellow circles surrounding it. "Alright, the nearest one is this way," she said, and she pointed west. "Alright, let's go," I said, and I headed out.

[Nichi's point-of-view] I looked after Matt, my eyes filled with sadness. _What happened to you?_ I asked him in my mind. _You used to be so confident. Yesterday, you wouldn't have flinched at this. Did Cyclonus and his troops really do that much to you?_ I decided to let it go, and followed him and his cousins to the first Mini-Con.

[Matt's point-of-view] "Hey," Erin said as she caught up to me. "So I just remembered that the Mississippi is about ten miles out from St. Peters. Tell me something, genius, how did you plan on scouting out decepticlones twenty miles away from St. Peters?"

I grew red at the question, and said, "Huh. Well, I always did suck at geography. Whoops."

The four of us made small talk for the next half-hour until we came upon Highway C. "Get down," I said, pointing to a trench on the side of the road. We all got down, and peeked our eyes over to a field. A little ways away stood eight light units, four medium units, two serges, and two of the four-legged robos from Hell we came up against in the mall, known as guerillas. _Okay, that's not too bad,_ I said, as I examined the yellow light shining between the robots.

"Alright," I said as the four of us ducked down into the trench and out of sight. "The three of you are going to provide cover fire for me. Nichi, you take Flashbang. Taylor, you take Lock-On. Erin, since you're such a good shot, you're going to just use your blaster. I'll take Safeguard and get up close and personal. You got me?" I asked. They all nodded, and I hopped out of the trench. Safeguard came out as well, then turned into the armor and attached to my body. I made six hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired thirty tiny fireballs out at the decepticlones, which caught them all off guard and sent them running for cover.

Three of the light units were destroyed, and both of the guerillas came galloping at me. A pair of rockets flew at one, knocking it off its feet and sending it tumbling across the ground. I pulled out two fire-kunai and threw them at the other, sending it flying through the air as well. I ducked a serge rocket, and then charged the crowd. I distinctly noticed the guerillas get up and make way for the girls, but I trusted them enough to handle it. One of the light units walked out of the smoke and pointed its blaster at me, but a well-aimed shot from Erin blew its head off, and sent its body crashing to the ground. I pulled out a kunai and blocked a slash from a serge, then ducked down and swept its feet out from under it, sending it down as well.

One of the medium units fired three shots at me, but I ducked them all and put eight shuriken in its body, sending it to the ground. The serges came at me from either side with their swords, but I put two kunai in the ground and used them to lift myself up into the air and out of the way, making the serges nearly take each other out. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and sent myself further into the air, making some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired the fireball down at the crowd, taking out all but one of the light units and two of the medium units, and leaving the rest of them in pieces, except for the serges.

I chanced a look at the girls and found that they had already taken down one guerilla, and were keeping the other one at bay. I flew out of the way of two rockets from the serges, and came down at them with my fists raised. The serge I flew at thrust its fist at me, I thrust my own fist at it, and when they were within six inches of each other, I came around and grabbed the serge's wrist. I came forward and pointed the bottom of my foot at it, and the chakra from the _Flight Jutsu_ burned through its armor, clearing a hole in its stomach, which made it drop limp. I grabbed its sword arm and used it to block a slash from the other serge, and I then pulled out a fire-kunai and landed it at its feet.

The explosion sent the serge flying back ten feet, but it got back to its feet hardly scathed. I flew at it with a _Rasengan_ raised, and I rammed it into the robot's gut, tearing it apart and sending metallic parts flying all over the place. A barrage of blasts came at me from behind, but I super-sped out of the way, and came out behind two of the light units, which then dropped to the ground. A medium unit prepared to fire at me, but a homing missile collided into it, blowing it apart and leaving one light unit and one medium unit. I walked casually over to them, blocking blasts with a kunai, and the sound of metal ripping rang through the air.

The girls ran over to me, and I bent down next to the Mini-Con. When the shell opened, out popped a red and gray Mini-Con with what looked like wings on its back. I became psyched, as I immediately knew it was a jetpack. "Alright, on to the next one," I said, and we moved out. "The next one is about half a mile south of here," Nichi said, checking her GPS.

"Well then, it should be in sight," I said, looking off in the distance. "Got it," I said, seeing a yellow glow on the horizon.

I couldn't tell what was guarding it, but I wasn't too worried. We made our way to the Mini-Con, keeping a look out for any signs of resistance. When we got there, there was nothing to hide behind, but the enemy was in plain sight. This time, we were up against twenty medium units. "Erin, you take the new guy here and go up high, providing covering fire from the air," I said. The Mini-Con transformed into little more than a rectangular box with wings, which attached to Erin's back via a metallic latch. She pressed a button on the latch and sped forward, reducing to nothing more than a blur as she moved, and came out ten feet where she started.

"Okay," I said slightly disappointed, but still willing to work with it. "That being the case, you're going to get in a little bit closer than Taylor and Nichi, and you're going to use him to dodge incoming fire. But don't use it any more than you have to. Remember what McKinley said about it needing to charge up. Alright, we ready?" I asked, and they all nodded.

I looked back at the medium units to find them all twenty feet away, pointing their blasters at us. "Have they been there the whole time?" I asked no one in particular.

"Probably," Erin answered.

"_Earth Style: Terra Shield!_" I slammed my palm on the ground and brought up a giant wall of earth that blocked the medium units' blasts, and myself and a _Shadow Clone_ took the girls and super-sped them out of there. We came out a hundred feet away, and the five of us faced the medium units, which were making their way over here. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired off my jutsu at the oncoming assault, taking out half a dozen of them and leaving fourteen left. Nichi fired off Flashbang, taking out another one, and Taylor hit one with Lock-On, hurting him but not killing him. I super-sped at them, and came out behind two of them with a kunai in each hand, and both of them dropped to the ground.

I super-sped out of the way of a hailstorm of blasts, and came out twenty feet in the air. A pair of rockets took out two more, and Erin picked off three more of them, while Taylor finished the one she had damaged. Six of them fired up at me, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" My ball of air blocked all of the blasts, and I made a few more hand signs and fired off a _Phoenix Flower_ at the medium units. Many of them were blown apart, and when all was said and done, there were only five medium units left. Nichi took one of them down with Flashbang, I landed a fire-kunai in another, and the resulting explosion took out two more, and Erin blew the heads off of the remaining two.

With all of them now dead, the four of us ran up to the next Mini-Con, and I bent down next to it. Out of the shell landed a purple Mini-Con with a blaster for an arm. That told me that this was a projectile-type Mini-Con, which was very good. "Alright, on to the last one," I said to Nichi, who looked at her GPS.

"Okay, it's about a mile northeast of us," she said, and we headed out. In about forty-five minutes, we were there. I examined the resistance, which comprised of a heavy unit, two shockmaces, and four serges. The purple Mini-Con jumped up and turned into a blaster, which mounted on my wrist, and I aimed it at the heavy unit. I fired, and the barrel released a blast that was about a foot and a half in diameter and rippling with orange electricity as it flew at the heavy unit. The blast hit, and the heavy unit stood there for several seconds in what I guessed was shock, before it turned on its comrades and started firing at the shockmaces.

One of them was destroyed before the other registered that their commander had just betrayed them, and it, along with the serges started firing back. Four serge rockets collided into the heavy unit, causing it to stumble back, before the shockmace came forward and put its blade in the heavy unit's stomach, sending electricity coursing through its body. One of the serges jumped up and swung its sword, then landed behind the heavy unit as its head dropped to the ground, followed by its body. The shockmace raised its staff and looked in our direction, while the serges came running to see who had attacked them.

I aimed the purple Mini-Con at the shockmace, but it didn't fire, and I couldn't get back down before the shockmace spotted me. It gestured to the serges where we were, and they all fired rockets at us. We all ducked down as the ridge we were hiding behind was blown apart, covering us in dust and smoke. Nichi was on the ground coughing, so I grabbed Flashbang and mounted him, and fired a pair of rockets at one of the serges. The serge was caught in the explosion, but withstood it and came out mostly unharmed. Two of the other serges fired rockets at us, and I ducked down, allowing them to fly harmlessly past. Erin fired her blaster at one of the serges, blowing its head off and sending it crashing to the ground.

I noticed one of the other serges coming at us with its sword raised, and I fired Flashbang at it, knocking it to the ground. The four of us got to our feet, and the girls engaged the serges while I went for the shockmace. As I ran, I formed a _Chidori_ in my hand, and the shockmace held out its staff, which became engulfed in electricity. I rammed my _Chidori_ into the staff, and electricity was thrown off in every direction, and we both fought to outdo one another. A serge dove down on top of Nichi, but she hit it with Flashbang, sending its parts cascading across the ground. Another serge swung its sword, but a blast landed in its shoulder socket, causing the serge to halt.

Erin put three more shots in the same spot, and the serge's arm fell off, followed by Erin putting two shots in its head. The third serge rolled across the ground as two homing missiles exploded near it, and Taylor had Lock-On pointing at the serge, her face filled with fear. The serge charged Taylor, and she fell to the ground in fear. Something hit the serge from behind, and it exploded, sending its parts flying through the air. I walked forward, the ruins of the shockmace in my wake, and I helped Taylor to her feet. "Sorry," she said embarrassedly.

"You're fine," I assured her with a smile. The four of us walked up to the Mini-Con, and I bent down next to it and activated it. Out of the shell stepped a green robot, with ridges running up its arms and legs, which I had to guess were supposed to be its barrel. "Okay," I said, "onto the Mississippi."

Before we could, however, the sound of an explosion made us turn around. A pillar of smoke billowed into the air from Saint Peters, and my eyes narrowed. "You guys find somewhere to hide," I said to them. "I'll go deal with that." They all nodded, and I took Safeguard and Flashbang, activated a _Flight Jutsu_, and flew off towards the disturbance.

Ten days later, when the sun was on the horizon, I flew down and landed on the ground to find Nichi, Taylor, and Erin having set up in a clump of tall grass that sufficiently concealed them from enemy forces. "We were beginning to think something had happened to you," Erin said to me.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It was a much bigger deal than I thought it would be."

"Was it the Decepticlones?" Nichi asked.

"Uh…no," I answered. "I'll tell you about it later; right now, let's just take care of this invasion force."

We made for the Mississippi River, and in about twenty minutes, we had the invasion force in plain sight. Ten drop ships were lined up on the bank of the river, and each was guarded by seven medium units and a heavy unit. In front of the heavy units stood twenty spider tanks, and in front of them, lined up in formation were twelve serges, and behind them stood twenty light units and four guerillas each. In front of the serges stood five shockmaces. It looked like McKinley was right; no force the military could come up with was going to be a match for all that. I smiled and said, "Perfect."

* * *

To those of you who are wondering what was going on at the end there, think about what happens tomorrow...


	94. Allies at the Spectrum

In case you were wondering, I finsihed this about two minutes ago.

* * *

ALLIES AT THE SPECTRUM

The sound of an incredible explosion made Nichi, Taylor, Erin and I all turn around. A pillar of black smoke that was laced with flames and embers rose up into the sky in the direction of Saint Peters. My eyes narrowed, and I said, "You guys find somewhere to hide. I'll go deal with that." They all nodded, and I took Safeguard and Flashbang, activated a _Flight Jutsu_, and flew off towards the disturbance. While I was flying through the air towards the source of the chaos, a massive wave of some unknown, purple substance washed over me, nearly knocking me out of the air. "Jesus, what the hell was that?" I asked out loud as I looked with wide eyes towards where it came from.

Without another thought, I shot towards Saint Peters as fast as I could, hoping I would be in time to stop whatever madness was happening. It was then that I felt a hideous chakra hanging in the air; a chakra that made my skin crawl and my blood freeze. I continued my pace towards the smoke cloud, and I eventually saw the buildings that marked the edge of Saint Peters. What I saw made my stomach drop. The smoke cloud that I had been seeing this entire time was as big as a football field, and it was right in the center of the city. The evil chakra I had been feeling intensified as I got closer, and I almost wanted to turn back.

At first, I thought it had been Orochimaru at work, but I then realized that what I was feeling was far worse. And that was when it hit me. This wasn't chakra at all; it was something far more intoxicating, dangerous, and deadly than anything a shinobi could emit. I came to a stop a hundred feet away from the smoke, looking down into the carnage to see what was happening. All of the buildings within a fifty-foot radius had been completely leveled, and in the center of the destruction stood three people. One of them had long, blond hair down to his waist, and he was wearing a tan trench coat over a light-green shirt and blue jeans. A second one had black, spiky hair, and was wearing a gray tank-top over black sweatpants. The one at the base of the smoke pillar had short-trimmed, dull-brown hair, and was wearing a black cape with dark-brown shirt and pants.

I thought none of them had noticed me, until the one with blond hair looked up at me with a grin. "_Damn!_" I said with wide eyes.

"Is there something we can help you with?" he shouted politely. His two companions turned around and looked up at me as well, all with similar grins.

"Who are you?" I shouted back down.

"We are the Blitzleute," the one in the cape answered. "And we have come to eliminate the shinobi world."

"Oh, really?" I asked. "And why's that?"

"Perhaps someday, you'll find out," he answered with a note of finality. "Henrik, perhaps we should start with this one," he suggested to the blond.

"I agree," Henrik responded. He pointed his arm up at me, and a ball of bright-blue energy appeared in the palm. "_Lichttöten!_" He fired a beam of energy up at me, and I just barely managed to evade it as it flew up into the sky. I flew through the air, but Henrik was right above me, with his fist held out and surrounded in blue energy. "_Handschuh!_" I hastily crossed my arms in a meager defense, and Henrik pounded me down and sent me smashing into the ground, raising dust around me. Henrik dropped down and landed on the ground, and the dust around me cleared to reveal me, laying in a crater with blood running down my face. I was looking through one half-opened eye at Henrik, who kept a perfectly casual grin on his face.

I dug myself out of the crater I was in, and made a sequence of six hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired out a massive fireball at him, and he watched it come without making the slightest effort to dodge it. The fireball hit him and raised an explosion of smoke and flames around him, and just as I thought I had hurt him, I noticed what was right behind me. A hand slammed into the side of my face with ten times as much force as a baseball bat, and I went flying into the air. I back-flipped onto a _Flight Jutsu_, and I glared down at Henrik as I wiped blood from my lip.

Henrik shot up at me without any kind of support, and I made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired out a volley of fifty tiny fireballs at him, but he shuffled through them at speeds that I couldn't keep up with while he slowly closed in on me. I pulled out a kunai and prepared myself, but he knocked it away with his bare hand, and then kicked me in the gut, sending me flying back through the air. While I was flying back, Henrik hit me in the top of the head from behind, sending me flying down and smashing into the ground. Henrik appeared in front of his comrades, and he said, "My liege; please feel free to exit this battle. We have made our presence known; I will deal with this rat from here."

"Very well," the man in the cape responded. "Make sure you do it in a way that the entire shinobi world knows what's coming. He is the shining symbol of their strength; as soon as he dies, the Five Great Nations will inevitably surrender."

"Of course, your Majesty," Henrik replied. Henrik's leader and the other one both disappeared, and the dust around me cleared. I was bent low to the ground, and I had a _Chidori_ surging from my palm. "Very impressive," Henrik said without the slightest trace of fear. "If nothing else, your stubbornness has granted you great praise in the eyes of his Majesty. And that, of course, it why you must be destroyed."

"Bring it," I said to him. I shot at him with my _Chidori_ tearing the ground apart, and he braced himself for my arrival. I swung my _Chidori_ at him, and a massive explosion blasted dust and rubble through the air. The dust died, and Henrik had his bare arm held out to block my _Chidori_. My eyes were wide with shock, and he then smacked me across the face, sending me spiraling through the air and smashing through a building, raising dust fifty feet around me. Henrik them pointed his arm in the direction I had landed, and he charged up another Lichttöten in his palm. He fired the beam at me, and it hit my general area and raised a massive explosion that sent smoke and flames rising into the air. Satisfied, Henrik lowered his arm and disappeared.

I opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was Safeguard and Flashbang prodding me in an attempt to wake me up. I rose to a sitting position and rubbed my head, wiping the blood that was trailing from it onto the ground around me. "Jeez, what were those guys?" I asked myself. I looked around at the chaos around me, at the destroyed buildings and the plumes of smoke rising into the air, and a brick dropped into my stomach as I realized that my hometown had been destroyed. I pulled myself to my feet and brushed the dirt off my pants, and then climbed out of the crater I was in.

Flashbang transformed into a rocket launcher and attached to my wrist, while Safeguard transformed into a box and attached to my back. "Alright," I said to them. "I guess it's time we start finding some answers." I limped over the rubble piles, dripping blood onto the ground as I went, and I came to the edge of the gigantic crater that the original smoke cloud that brought me here had been flowing out of. My eyes narrowed as I struggled to see through the dizziness, and I eventually managed to make out the form of a person lying in the center of the crater. My eyes widened, and I immediately ran down the slope of the depression, struggling to not fall. I came to the person, and was slightly appalled to find out that it was a young girl.

She didn't look to be any older than fifteen, with long, red hair down to the small of her back. She had blood all over her, but she was still breathing. I hoisted her onto my back and carried her out of the crater, then set her down on the edge of it. I checked her wounds to see how lethal they were, but found that none of them seemed to be very bad. As soon as I was done, I crawled over and sat against a wall, waiting for her to wake up. I then took on an irritated look, and said, "Yes, Flashbang, I know it's creepy, but what do you want me to do?" After about a half-hour, during which I took the time to heal my wounds, the girl's eyes opened. I immediately focused my attention on her as she looked around, taking in the destruction.

She then noticed me, and she said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you living here?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Unfortunately, I happened to be away by the time all this happened."

"That's terrible," she said.

I couldn't help but feel that she was studying me much more intently than she would someone she simply thought was an orphan. "Don't worry too much about it," I advised her. "The Decepticlones took care of most of the people here before the Blitzleute showed up."

Her eyes widened and she said, "Wait, what do you know about them?"

"Just what I learned while that guy Henrik was beating the spit out of me," I answered.

"Yes, Henrik's second-in-command in their organization," the girl told me. "You'd do well to avoid him altogether."

After a moment of staring at her, I said, "What's your name? And how do you know about these people?"

"My name's Eva Ferguson," she answered. "What's your name?"

"Matt Withau," I answered. "How do you know about the Blitzleute?" I asked again.

She then took on a remorseful look, and then said, "I know about them because their leader is my older brother." My eyes widened, and I waited for her to continue. "I used to assist them in their early days, but when I learned of their true motives, I deserted them and tried to build a resistance against them. But in spite of all my efforts, they're far too strong to combat."

"How many of them are there?" I asked.

"Sixteen, as far as I know," she answered. "I've managed to gather together eleven people to fight them, but it's still not enough. Whenever we try to intercept them and prevent their next move, we always end up getting beaten to bloody pulps. I wish there was someone out there who could help us combat them. If we could get someone who was especially strong, then we might stand a chance."

"I guess it looks like you've got your man." Eva looked at me with wide eyes, and I looked back with a determined expression.

"Wait, how can you help us?" she asked me.

"Because I'm a shinobi, and a barer of _Rinnegan_," I answered.

Her eyes widened again, and she said, "You're…a shinobi?"

"Yeah," I responded. "And I promise you I'll make sure these people pay for what they've done."

As these words registered with Eva, her look of shock fell to a small smile that portrayed slight hope.

Eva and I walked down a stairwell set into a cave that was dimly lit by torchlight. "This is quite an interesting place to keep a hideout," I commented to Eva.

"This was the only place we could find where the Blitzleute wouldn't find us," she responded. We came to the bottom of the stairs, where a large, metal door stood rooted in the rock. Eva took out a key and stuck it in the keyhole, and when she opened the door, she stepped aside to let me in. I walked in to a spacious room with several couches and tables, and my eyes widened as I looked around. Eleven people were occupying these, and the ones that hadn't turned to see me were eating or watching television.

"Eva, you're back." Someone with sleek, dark hair that went down to his neck walked up, and he was looking me directly in the eyes. "And I see you brought us a friend," he added.

"Matt Withau," I introduced, holding out my hand.

He grasped it and said, "Daniel Heinrich. I'm the commander of the rebellion force. Nice to meet you. Are you the latest person Eva got to join our cause?"

"Yeah," I answered.

"He's different from us, though," Eva commented. "He's a shinobi."

Daniel's eyes widened as he heard this, and he then took on a grin. "A shinobi, eh?"

With this, all ten of his comrades had their eyes on me, and many rose to their feet to get a better look. I noted the contempt in Daniel's eyes, and said, "I take it you have a sore spot for shinobi?"

"You better believe I do," he answered. "Your kind tried to wipe us all out ten years ago."

"And what exactly is 'your kind'?" I asked curiously.

"Collectively, we are what are called Soldaten. We were born with supernatural abilities that are far stronger than those of the average shinobi. This caught the attention of the Five Great Nations, who ultimately elected to exterminate us. Since there were so few of us and so many of them, it was child's play in bringing us down. However, a few of us managed to survive, and we formed a singular unit in order to get our revenge on the shinobi. We called ourselves the Blitzleute, and I co-ran the group along with Johann Ferguson. After a while, Eva got her sense about her and slowly convinced us to depart from the group and form our own rebellion faction against them. While nothing we've done has had any effect, I have no doubt that we'll eventually beat them out. Of course, any extra help we can get would be very much appreciated, even if that means we have to swallow our pride and side with a—"

"Man, you gotta be kidding me!" Daniel and I looked around to see someone walking over. He was a very skinny man, with black, shaggy hair going down to his waist. "Are you seriously saying we have to side with this piece of crap?" he asked as he glared at me angrily.

"Calm down, Benjamin," Daniel advised. "This kid was only a toddler when his kind wiped us out. He had nothing to do with it, and shouldn't be blamed."

Even as I looked at him, took in the angry and resentful look he was giving me, I had to admit that he was far more in the right to be here than I was. I had no idea what the Five Great Nations had been thinking when they tried to wipe out the Soldaten, but I had no valid defense for my people. Benjamin then grasped my shirt and pulled me forward so that we were face-to-face, and it was clear that he wanted to kill me. "I said calm yourself, Benjamin!" Daniel said firmly. "He is _not_ our enemy. He has agreed to help us fight Johann, and killing him won't bring us any closer to victory."

"Yeah, but that don't mean I have to like it," he said without looking at Daniel. "Let's take this outside, I wanna see what you got." He then hauled me out the giant metal door and up the stairs, and Eva and Daniel both followed.

Before exiting the hideout, Daniel turned to the other rebels and said, "Try not to burn the place down while we're gone."

"Tell Benjamin not to kill him," said a woman with brown hair in a tight braid down her back.

"I'll try," Daniel responded.

Outside the hideout, Benjamin and I stood twenty feet apart, facing each other for combat. Daniel and Eva both watched us from the sidelines, Eva anxiously, Daniel exasperatedly.

"Are you ready?" Benjamin asked.

"I am," I responded.

"Then I'll make the first move," he said. He pointed his arms at me and said, "_Wasserwaschen!_" A torrent of water fired from either palm at me, but I dove out of the way and hit the ground, and then immediately got to my feet and leaped into the air.

While airborne, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

I fired the fireball down at him, but he crossed his arms and said, "_Wasserhaus!_" A dome of water formed around him and extinguished my fireball, but I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and made three more hand signs. "_Chidori!_" An aura of lightning surrounded my hand, and I shot down at him with my jutsu raised.

Benjamin's Wasserhaus splashed to the ground, and he said, "_Schnell!_" He disappeared, making my eyes widen in shock, and he kicked me in the back from above, sending me smashing into the ground. The dust around me cleared, and I was on one knee with blood running down my face.

"I think Henrik used that same technique," I said to him. "Is it something common among Soldaten?"

"First of all, these techniques are referred to as 'Kräfte', and yeah, it's the one Kraft that any Soldaten worth his title knows. It's called Schnell, and it's the most basic Kraft of our kind that lets us move at untraceable speeds to confuse and ambush our opponents," Benjamin explained.

"I like it," I said with a smile. "It's unpredictable and damn near impossible to dodge."

"_Don't mock us, you scum!_" Benjamin screamed angrily. I could tell there was a lot of pain in his eyes, and I could only imagine what he had gone through after the destruction of his friends and allies.

He aimed his hands down at me and said, "I'm gonna make sure you don't ever underestimate the power of the Soldaten, even if that means killing you!"

I quickly wove some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired a volley of fireballs up at him, but he crossed his arms and formed another Wasserhaus to defend against it. His Wasserhaus splashed down to the ground, and I disappeared in a burst of speed, making his eyes widen as I came out behind him. "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I hit him with a wave of white-hot flames, making Eva gasp in horror while Daniel watched intently. The flames and smoke cleared, and Benjamin hung in the air with several burns on his body while blood ran down his limbs. He was hanging in the air unsupported by any means, and I couldn't find any explanation for this.

"This Kraft is called Stehen, and it allows us to concentrate our powers into our feet, causing us to stand on midair."

"Damn, you guys are awesome," I said sincerely. He chose not to respond to this, and I could tell it was because he knew that I truly had nothing against him.

"Alright, are you done?" We both looked down at Daniel, who was looking back up at us with contempt. "Are you satisfied now, Benjamin?" he asked. "I think it's pretty clear he wants to help us, but if you want to batter him into the ground so that he can't then I guess that's all on you."

Benjamin had a look of disgrace on his face, but I could tell that he was still suppressing anger under it. He descended down and landed on the ground, and I landed nearby. "Good," Daniel stated. "Let's go back inside and draw up some battle strategies."

Back inside the hideout, all thirteen of us were gathered around a table, which had notes and battle charts spread across it. "Now that we have one more person, that's hypothetically less people that need to take on two opponents," Daniel began. "We know what their powers are, but that doesn't mean we can combat them. We just barely made it out alive from our last incursion, and we've been no closer in gaining any ground against them. That is, until Matt came along. He has mild experience fighting Soldaten, including a battle with the second-in-command of the Blitzleute, Henrik Ferdinand."

At these words, several people took on impressed looks. "Yeah," Daniel said with a smile. "Now I've seen a small taste of his skills in combat, and I have to say I'm impressed. Matt," he said to me directly, "how much battle experience do you have altogether?"

"About a year's worth," I answered. "And around how many people have you fought in that time?"

"Well, if we're talking shinobi, I've participated in a total of fifteen battles, twelve of which I've won. I've also fought two Decepticons, beating both, along with countless Decepticlones," I explained.

"Decepti-who?" someone asked.

"Uh, no one. Nothing," I said, not feeling up to explaining.

"Alright, so it seems like you have a grand wealth of experience in the battlefield," Daniel concluded. "That's awesome. We're going to need someone like that if we plan on defeating the Blitzleute. We know where their home base is, so now it's just a matter of getting over there."

"And where is their home base?" I asked.

"In Munich," he answered. "But they have posts in London, Paris, Vaduz and Lucerne. We're going to have to clean them all out if we want to defeat them for good.

My eyes widened at this, wondering if I had heard properly. "Did you just say we're going to Europe?" I asked.

"Yes, I did," Daniel replied with a smile.

I simply stared agape, and he took solace in my shock. "Well, how are we getting there?" I asked.

"Oh, I'll show you," he responded. He gestured for me to follow him, and we walked over to a trap door hidden in the floor. Daniel opened it up and revealed a stairway that dropped down into darkness.

"Really, you're gonna show him that already?" the brown-headed girl asked in surprise.

"If he's gonna help us, he needs to know all of our assets," Daniel responded. The girl remained silent as the two of us descended into darkness, and it felt like my eyes were being pressed in by the pitch-black.

We finally came to the bottom of the stairs, and Daniel flipped a light switch. As I saw what was in the room, my eyes widened, and my bottom jaw dropped open. "Where in the hell did you get your hands on this?" I asked, appalled.

"We swiped it from a crash site and restored it so that we could use it whenever we needed," Daniel answered as he admired the gigantic jet big enough to fit twenty people.

"Who…Who made this thing?" I asked.

"The SNIS," he answered. "They mass-produce these monstrosities in order to shuffle their agents from location to location. It's been incredibly useful in getting us where we need to go," he said with a smile.

"Uh, um…okay then," I said, proper language failing me.

"Are we ready to go?" I turned around and found Eva and the other ten rebels standing in the doorway.

Daniel walked over to the jet and said, "Yeah, let's load up," as he opened a door on the side. Fifteen minutes later, we were all flying through the air over the landscape. Eleven of us were situated in seats facing each other, while Daniel and the girl from before, whose name was Helene Diethelm, were up front piloting the jet. The other Soldaten were conversing about the Blitzleute, recounting details of their members and former incursions with them.

Meanwhile, I was looking out the window behind me at the States racing by. It was hard for me to believe that I was actually going to Europe, especially to fight a group of complete newcomers that I had never even heard of. After a while, a girl with long, blond, curly hair turned to me and asked, "So, like, do you have any really powerful shinobi where you're from?"

I looked at her for a moment before saying, "Yeah, we have a fair few. As far as I know we have about a hundred thousand battle-ready fighters throughout the shinobi world. I haven't met very many of them, but there are definitely some scary-strong people."

"Who is the leader of your nation?" she asked.

"Actually, we have five of them," I informed her. "The shinobi world is divided into about a dozen countries, but five of them take precedence as the Five Great Nations. These Nations are led by the five Kage, which are the strongest five people out of all of us." She was listening to what I was saying, but I couldn't help but feel a sense of discrimination against me from her; the same discrimination that all of the Soldaten looked at me with.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Daniel said over a loudspeaker, "we are now crossing over the ocean, and we will be in London in two hours." Indeed, when I looked out the window again, a blanket of endless blue met my view.

At the same time, in the middle of London, it was the middle of the night, and three people were standing atop a building in downtown, looking over the city. The one at the head of them had a large, green, spiked Mohawk, and was wearing a white sleeveless shirt along with white pants, and he had gold piercings in his ears, bottom lip, and eyebrow. His name was Kurt Leberecht. "It looks like we have some company," he said.

"So it seems," said one of his companions. This one was leaning against an attic door, and he had long, black, greasy hair down to his waist. He was wearing a black jacket with dark-red shirt and black jeans. His name was Marco Oswald.

"You want me to take care of them?" he asked. After a moment of consideration, Kurt said, "No. Let them come to us. We'll probably be able to take them down, even if it's all eleven of them."

"What if the shinobi boy is among them?" asked a man with short, brown, spiky hair. He was wearing a gray long-sleeved shirt with dark-blue jeans, and he was called Arthur Benedict.

"Then you two are going to hold off the rebels while I have some personal time with him. I want to see just how strong he really is."

Back in the plane, the conversation had died down, and we had all gone off to our own devices. Some of us were looking out the windows, like me, while others had pulled out MP3 players and were listening to music. After another ninety minutes, Daniel said into the loudspeaker, "We are ten minutes out from our location, so get ready for battle. Chances are they already know we're here."

MP3 players were pocketed, and the Soldaten all stretched and popped their bones, while I checked my weapons and their battle-readiness. Something made me look up at the blond-headed girl from before, whose name was Gabriella Clemens, and I saw that she was looking at me with an analytical expression. "Good luck," she said to me.

"Same to you," I responded as I pulled out a kunai. The doors on either side of the jet opened, and we all gathered to exit.

The Soldaten all activated Stehen and slowly descended out of the jet, but I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and shot down at the ground. I landed on the ground well before anyone else did, and I straightened up and looked around at the jet, which was passing by. In the cockpit, Daniel was taking his seatbelt off and removing his headset, while Helene focused on keeping the jet on a straight course. Daniel opened the door of the cockpit and said, "Once you've got this thing hidden, come find us."

"Will do," Helene responded without looking at him.

Daniel nodded, and he jumped out the plane, activating Stehen to keep himself descending at a slow pace. Helene lowered the jet onto a rooftop, and after she turned off the engines, she pressed a button on the dashboard, activating a cloaking device to shroud the jet. Helene walked away from the jet and used Schnell, coming out with the rest of us. "Alright, we're here," I said. "What happens now?"

"We start searching for clues about the Blitzleute," Daniel answered. "The thirteen of us will split up." He named off the different members of the group and who they would be going with, including a pairing between Benjamin and Helene. He had it so that he and I would be escorting Eva, and I inferred this as being because she was the one among us who didn't have any powers. The five groups separated and went off in different directions, spreading out across the city to search for any signs of the Blitzleute. The Soldaten all used Schnell to cover a greater distance in a shorter amount of time, but Daniel was forced to walk, as Eva and I were unable to use the technique.

While the three of us were walking, I asked, "Do you have any idea where the Blitzleute might be around here?"

"Not a clue," Daniel responded. "London's a big city; it may be a while before we find them."

We walked down the sidewalk, which was packed with people walking in every direction. The streets themselves had cars operated by people driving like absolute maniacs. I couldn't help but watch in awe as the drivers weaved in and out of each other, and it was all I could do not to imagine a fifty-car-pileup. "It's nice, isn't it?" Daniel said as he looked back at me with a smile.

"Uh…that's one word for it," I answered.

"Hah! Yeah. Believe me, though, Europe is a thousand times better than America for so many reasons. After a while here, you won't wanna go back."

"I doubt that," I said under my breath, thinking back to my cousins who had been left alone back in Saint Peters, with Decepticlones surrounding them on all sides.

In spite of my fears, I did have to admit that London was an amazing city. The life present in every aspect of it was unlike anything I had ever seen back home. The sky was a dreary gray while the temperature was at sixty degrees, but this didn't seem to bother the Londoners in the slightest. They acted like having so little sunlight was a perfectly normal part of their lives. The three of us passed small shops and restaurants lining the streets, and I looked in the windows to see what types of things were sold here. Daniel told me that England wasn't well-known for their gourmet food, and that they basically ripped their meals off of places such as America and the Middle East.

To prove his point, at one point we passed a small, red restaurant labeled "_Rocky's: American Fried Chicken __Pizzas ∙∙∙ Kebabs ∙∙∙ Burgers_. Later down the road we saw a McDonald's that was housed in a two-story, brown, brick building that dwarfed the fast-food places in America in both size and class. The roads themselves were very small, and the buildings were tightly packed around them, giving the feel that one was being boxed in. All while we were walking, I was wishing I had brought my camera. We traveled for roughly two hours, and while all of my attention was on the city around me, Daniel reported no signs of the Blitzleute being anywhere nearby.

"Do you guys have a technique where you can search each other out telepathically?" I asked.

"We do," he answered. "It's called Sehen, but a skilled-enough Soldat can mask their presence from the technique so that he can't be found with it. I've been searching since we got here, but I haven't found any signs of them."

"Do you know if the others have?" I asked.

"No," he responded. "I sense that none of them have been involved in a fight, which means that the Blitzleute haven't encountered them either. I don't know, it could be a while before—" A massive explosion blasted out the front wall of a building nearby, ensuing mass chaos as the people in the streets ran in every direction to get away.

Daniel, Eva and I all waited to see what was happening, and the flames cleared to reveal a man wearing white shirt and pants, with gold piercings in his ears, lip and eyebrow. "Who are you?" I asked, pulling out a kunai.

"I am Kurt Leberecht," he answered. "I am the commander of the Blitzleute forces in London. And you've crossed into our territory, rebels. I guess that means you gotta be dealt with."

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

I fired my jutsu out at Kurt, who looked at it with a superior grin and said, "_Stehen!_" He floated into the air above the fireball, which took out the majority of what remained of the building Kurt had blown out. "Let's have it," he said with a taunting grin. I made a hand sign and let out a stream of chakra from my feet, but Daniel quickly put his arm on my shoulder to hold me back.

"Wait!" he said hastily. "You don't know what you're getting into!"

I brushed his arm off and shot up at Kurt, who flew off down the street, leaving me in his dust. I immediately shot off after him, and Daniel said to Eva, "Find cover," while he activated a Stehen of his own and flew off after us. I chased Kurt down the street, and the people on the streets looked up in awe as we flew by, stopping in the middle of their activities to gawk. I made a sequence of hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired a volley of tiny fireballs out at Kurt, who looked back at them with an excited grin on his face. He increased his speed as the fireballs homed in on him, but he banked sharply to the right and allowed them to slowly veer around and crash into buildings. I quickly came around the corner that Kurt had taken, and I kicked my _Flight Jutsu_ into full gear in order to keep up with him.

Kurt spun around through the air to face me, and he pointed his arm at me and said, "_Eisschießen!_" He fired several shards of ice that were two feet in length from his hand at me, but I hastily flew out of the way of them, my momentum sending me smacking into a wall.

Kurt spun around and flew off again, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired out five human-sized fireballs that flew through the air after Kurt, who watched them come with a much more serious look. I shot off after him as quickly as I could, but Kurt landed his foot into my back, sending me flying down towards the ground. I caught myself the instant before I hit the ground, and I rammed a kunai into his fist just before it would have pounded me. Blood spurted out of his fingers where my kunai had cut him, and when he swung his foot at me, I blocked it with my forearm and was knocked back through the air. With a fleeting smile, Kurt spun around and shot off again, and I quickly pursued him once more. I put my all into my _Flight_, and I finally caught up to him and raised my fist.

He spun around and caught my fist, and then kicked me in the stomach, stopping me cold while he swung me around and threw me into a building. He shot off again, and I dug my way out of the crater I had punched into the building, and I flew after him once more. I fired a _Nova Flame Jutsu_ at him, but he used Stehen to evade it, and continued flying. I came in after him again, and as I closed in, I activated a _Chidori_ and prepared to tear it through him. He quickly spun around and fired several more ice shards at me, but I blocked the one that would have hit me with my _Chidori_, which stopped me cold while he flew off again. I continued my pursuit, firing a _Fireball _at him that he let fly under him, causing it to smash into the ground and blow up three cars.

We continued flying, while I fired another volley of _Dragon Darts _that he allowed to fly into buildings and into the ground. He banked at a dead-end, and I was just barely able to avoid smashing into the building, skating across the wall with my chakra before shooting off it again. I fired yet another _Fireball_ at him, but he let it fly into yet another building, and the chase continued. I finally started to get frustrated with him, and I pulled out two fire-kunai and lined up my aim as he weaved in and out of cars, causing several wrecks. I threw the kunai at him, and Kurt came to the bank of the River Thames. A massive explosion blasted out of the tiny street we had flown down, and Kurt flew out of the smoke, then veered around and traveled down the river.

I came out after him in full pursuit, firing a _Fireball_ that hit the water and raised steam into the air. I burst through the steam and fired another _Fireball _that flew above and past Kurt, flying into a bridge and destroying it, sending gigantic pieces of rubble down on top of Kurt. He appeared on the opposite side of the rubble downpour and continued flying, while I hacked through with a _Chidori_ and continued my pursuit. The London Tower Bridge was now in view a few hundred feet away, and we were making a direct flight towards it. Kurt veered upwards and came towards the top, myself right behind him, and when he came to the top, he spun around and waited for me to come to him.

I closed the gap between us and swung my _Chidori_, but he ducked it and allowed me to sever one of the bottom Olympic Rings that had been fastened to the overhanging railing. Kurt backed off while the Ring dropped down and crashed into the road, stopping dozens of cars and causing multiple accidents. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu out at him, but he shot above it and allowed it to fly down into the Thames, and he then swung his arm through the air, firing several ice shards at me. I flew back to try and evade them, but one of them grazed my shoulder while Kurt closed in with ice extending past his hand, fastened into a sword. I quickly pulled out a kunai and blocked his slash, but he kicked me and sent me flying up into the air, and sent more ice shards after me.

I blocked the ones that would have hit me with my knife, allowing the others to fly up into the air, and I shot back down at Kurt with my kunai raised. He swung his arm out, knocking my knife out of my hand with his ice sword, and I just barely managed to fly back as he swung his sword, cutting a shallow gash into my torso. He prepared to attack again, but his eyes widened as Daniel came down from behind him with his fist raised. Kurt went flying down and crashed into the Thames, and Daniel walked through the air towards me. I smiled as he came and said, "Thanks for your help!" But when he got to me, he grabbed my shirt and pulled me close to him.

He looked at me with the utmost anger in his eyes and said, "I should never have brought you along."

My eyes slowly widened as I registered what he had said, and I responded with, "What?"

"It was a mistake to bring you here. I didn't know shinobi were so reckless about their actions and careless about their surroundings."

"What are you—"

"_Look around you!_" It was clear that he was enraged, and he stretched his arm out to his side to gesture to the bridge below, and what I saw made my heart sink. Dozens of cars were piled up on the bridge, their owners looking up at us with fear in their eyes. The Olympic Ring I had cut off had punched a massive crater into the street, halting traffic for miles.

"I…I," I stuttered, unable to find words.

"We'll talk about it later," Daniel said as he shoved me away. He looked down at the water as Kurt shot out of it, and he was looking at Daniel with a grin.

"Heinrich," he greeted curiously. "How nice to see you again."

"Choke on it, Kurt," Daniel said bitterly. "Where are the others?"

"Oh, by now, I'd say they've confronted the rest of your little group," Kurt responded with a taunting smile.

Daniel's eyes widened, and at the same time, Helene and Benjamin were hunched over, panting and looking up at Marco Oswald, who was looking back down at them with a bored expression.

Gabriella and her teammate, a dark, short-haired man by the name of Steffen Gustaf, were on separate buildings, facing off with Arthur Benedict. Arthur had a mild grin on his face as he waited for Gabriella or Steffen to make a move.

All the while, the other members of the Soldaten were running towards the nearest battle.

"_Eisschießen!_" Kurt fired a volley of ice shards at us, but Daniel and I evaded all of the shards, and I fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ up at him. Kurt flew to the side of it, and Daniel shot straight at him with his fist raised, but Kurt blocked his strike with the flat of his ice sword. Kurt then kicked Daniel in the gut, sending him flying into the side of the bridge, while I threw half a dozen shuriken up at Kurt. Kurt managed to block four of the shuriken, but one landed in his shoulder while one landed in his gut, and he gritted his teeth in pain as I shot directly at him. Daniel dug himself out of the crater Kurt had put him in, and he waited as I closed in. I held one palm out as I came in, and a swirl of chakra concentrated into my hand, forming a _Rasengan_.

Kurt flashed a grin across his face as he raised his ice sword in defense, and I rammed my _Rasengan_ into his blade. Chakra burst outward from the impact point, and Kurt's eyes widened in horror as he struggled with the _Rasengan_, which eventually sent him spiraling down towards the Thames. Daniel immediately shot at Kurt as he fell towards the river, and Daniel somersaulted over him and landed his foot into Kurt's stomach, propelling him straight down into the river. An explosion blasted dust through the air as cars rolled over, and Helene flew back through the air with blood dribbling down the side of her face.

She landed on the ground, and Benjamin appeared twenty feet in front of her, looking in the direction she had come from. Marco casually walked towards them, and he held out one hand and formed a ball of dark-purple energy in his palm. "_Dunkeljäger!_" Marco pointed his arm at Helene and Benjamin and fired a stream of energy at them. Their eyes widened in shock, and they both disappeared as the Dunkeljäger hit the ground and exploded violently, sending smoke and rubble flying through the air.

Benjamin appeared behind Marco with water surrounding his forearm, and Benjamin said, "_Wasserwaschen!_"

"_Dunkelwand!_" A wall of dark-purple energy appeared at Marco's back, blocking Benjamin's strike and knocking him back through the air. Helene appeared fifteen feet in the air above Marco, and she came down on top of him with her leg raised. "_Dunkeljäger!_" The wall that Marco had created shot up at Helene in the form of a stream, and she just barely managed to use Schnell to evade it, and she came out bent to the ground next to Benjamin.

"Ben, are you okay?" she asked as she helped him to a sitting position.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered as he rubbed his head. The two of them got to their feet and faced Marco once again, who looked at them with an expressionless face. Benjamin aimed both arms at him and said, "_Wasserwaschen!_" He fired a wave of water from both hands at Marco, who used Schnell to super-speed out of the way.

He came out twenty feet above Benjamin and Helene, and he pointed his index finger down at them and said, "_Dunkeljäger!_" A tiny stream of dark energy flowed out of his finger and shot down at Benjamin, who shot out of the way and allowed it to smash into the ground. While he flew through the air, he swung his arm, firing a stream of water up at Marco. Marco flew to the side of it, and he fired another Dunkeljäger out of his palm down at Benjamin. Benjamin jumped into the air over the Dunkeljäger, allowing it to crash into the ground, and he used Stehen to keep himself in the air while he glared up at Marco. Marco braced himself and shot down at Benjamin, who held his arms out to either side of him.

"_Wasserhaus!_" A stream of water floated out of either arm, surrounding Benjamin on all sides to form a closed sphere that protected him against Marco. Marco didn't bat an eye at this move, and he concentrated dark energy into his fist. Marco closed the gap between himself and Benjamin, and he pounded his fist into the Wasserhaus. The pressure from Marco's punch tore an enormous hole into the Wasserhaus, sending water splashing in all directions as Benjamin was left unprotected. Marco threw his other hand forward and hit Benjamin directly in the torso with another Dunkeljäger, knocking him through the air and sending him smashing into a building.

Citizens ran in all directions as pieces of rubble dropped to the ground, and Benjamin kicked his way out of the rubble. He jumped back into the air, and he surrounded both hands in a coat of water as he waited for Marco to make another move. "_Tollen Körperteile!_" Helene came down on top of him and swung her foot, and Marco was left defenseless as her strength knocked him down and smashed him into the ground. Helene landed behind the cloud of dust that had risen, but a Dunkeljäger came out at her, and her eyes widened as it tore the ground apart, raising more dust into the air. Helene appeared behind Marco as the dust around him cleared, but he spun around and fired another Dunkeljäger, causing her to once again evade with Schnell.

She came out right above him with her leg raised, but he threw both arms up and formed a Dunkelwand over his head. The impact of Helene's kick against the wall of energy caused a shockwave that crumbled the ground under Marco, but he focused his energy into the Dunkelwand, and two Dunkeljägers came out of it at her. Helene's eyes widened in horror, and the Dunkeljägers drove her through the air and smashed her into the ground, bringing up dust around her while Marco watched without expression.

Benjamin appeared behind him with water around his arms, but Marco spun around and kicked him in the gut, knocking him back and sending him skidding across the ground. Benjamin fired a Wasserwaschen from both hands at Marco, who held his hand out and formed a Dunkelwand that expanded out from his palm. The Wasserwaschen hit and bounced off the Dunkelwand, but all of the water then came around and attacked Marco from every side. Marco jumped back just as the water tore a crater into the ground, and he landed on the ground and swiped his arm through the air, firing five small blasts of dark-purple energy. Benjamin formed a Wasserhaus around himself, and as the embers bombarded his shield, Helene shot across the ground at Marco with her fist raised.

"_Tolle Körperteile!_" Marco turned around and fired a Dunkeljäger at her, but Helene disappeared just before it hit her, and she kicked Marco in the clavicle, knocking him off his feet while she somersaulted through the air. She landed on the ground with one palm planted in front of her, the other arm held behind her back.

"_Kleinen Dunkeljäger!_" Marco fired a bombardment of energy blasts at Helene, whose eyes widened as they came, and they all hit her directly and blasted up smoke and dust around her.

"_Helene!_" Benjamin screamed. The smoke and dust cleared, and Helene lay sprawled across the ground with blood all over her. Her eyes were closed, and she made no effort to get up. Benjamin fired a double-handed Wasserwaschen at Marco, but Marco jumped into the air while the water stream pursued him. Marco fired one Dunkeljäger down to intercept the water while he fired a second directly at Benjamin, but Benjamin used Schnell to evade it, allowing it to tear a chunk out of the ground. Benjamin reappeared in the air ten feet behind Marco, but Marco spun around and fired a Dunkeljäger at the same time that Benjamin fired a Wasserwaschen. The two attacks collided in the center of their owners, but the Dunkeljäger quickly overpowered the Wasserwaschen, sending both flying back at Benjamin, who was helpless as he was engulfed in smoke.

He dropped out of the smoke cloud and rolled across the ground, spattering blood as he went. When he came to a stop, he groaned in pain and struggled to get back to his feet, but Marco appeared next to him and kicked him in the gut, sending him sliding across the ground into the street. Benjamin rolled onto his fours, and he fired a Wasserwaschen out at Marco, who jumped into the air over it and let it crash into the ground. Marco fired a Dunkeljäger at Benjamin, who used Schnell to evade it and came out ten feet above Marco. Benjamin fired two Wasserwaschens at once down at him, but Marco conjured a Dunkelwand above him to intercept the water, sending it splashing to all sides of him.

Benjamin focused his powers, and the tendrils of water that splashed around Marco all came around and attacked him from all sides, but he brought his arms down and extended the Dunkelwand into a sphere that closed him off from all attacks. The Dunkelwand then exploded, dissipating the water around him, and Marco hovered in the air, looking down at Benjamin.

In another part of town, a building exploded with violent force, sending fiery rubble raining down on the city, and Gabriella dropped down and crashed into the ground, raising dust around her. The dust cleared, and she was lying in a crater she had smashed out of the ground, panting heavily with blood all over her. Arthur Benedict hung thirty feet in the air, looking down at her with a malicious grin on his face, when Steffen appeared behind him with his fist raised. Arthur looked back at him, and an explosion blasted him down and smashed him into the ground, raising smoke and dust around him. Steffen used Stehen to remain in the air, and he looked down at Arthur as he kneeled on knee, and he held his arm out to Steffen and said, "_Nichtsfeuer!_"

He closed his fingers into a fist, and the area around Steffen erupted into a fiery explosion that illuminated the city within fifty feet of the blast site. A tendril of smoke dropped out of the cloud that hung in the air, and Steffen came down and crashed into the ground, raising dust around him. "_Langarm!_" An elongated arm stretched out with the fist aimed right at Arthur's back, but he ducked down and let it fly overhead, and he then spun around to face Gabriella and aimed his palm at her.

"_Nichtsfeuer!_" Gabriella disappeared just as the area where she had been erupted in flames, and she appeared on a building behind Arthur and fired her arm down at him once again. Arthur came to the side of it and let the fist smash into the ground, and he aimed his palm up at her once again, causing the top of the building she had been on to explode. Gabriella came out of the flames with her arms crossed over her face, but she swung her arm around, stretching it out so that it came at Arthur from the side like a whip. Marco jumped back and let Gabriella's arm tear a line across the ground in front of him.

Gabriella retracted her arm back to its original length, and she then aimed the bottom of her foot down at Arthur and said, "_Langbein!_"

Her leg stretched out and shot down at Arthur like a cannonball, but he aimed his palm up at it and said, "_Nichtsfeuer!_" Gabriella's arm slammed into his jawbone from the side, and he went flying through the air just as her leg smashed into the ground where he had been. Gabriella's body came down to meet her leg, and she fired her fist at Arthur just as he was recovering from her last attack, and he was just barely able to cross his arms in defense as her fist knocked him into the air. Gabriella then swung her arm over her head, elongating it so that the arm came down on top of Arthur before he had even hit the ground from the previous attack.

The arm hit him and smashed him into the ground, raising a cloud of dust around him. Gabriella retracted her arm back to its original length, and Steffen appeared nearby with blood running down his face. The two of them waited for the dust to clear, when a voice echoed out, "_Großnichtsfeuer!_" A gigantic cloud of pure fire rose up seventy feet over the city, dwarfing the buildings around it and sending fiery rubble cascading down over what was left.

The other Soldaten, Eva, and myself all looked around in horror as smoke and flames hung in the air, visible like a horrible landmark to the people of London. Kurt looked around with a grin on his face while Marco paid it no mind, keeping his eyes on Benjamin and Helene. Kurt looked back down at me, and I looked back up at him through half-opened eyes, and I was panting heavily and had blood running down my face and arms. "You still wanna fight?" he asked me.

I wrapped my hand around my wrist and focused my chakra, and an aura of lightning appeared around my hand. "_Chidori!_" I shot straight up at Kurt with my jutsu raised, but he held his hand out and said, "_Eisschwert!_" Ice extended across his hand into a sword, and he held it out to intercept my attack. I cleaved my _Chidori_ through his ice sword without any effort, and I tore a gash through Kurt's torso, making his eyes widen in shock as blood spattered through the air. I deactivated my jutsu and swung my leg around, kicking him in the side and sending him flying through the air. Kurt back-flipped and landed on the air with the help of Stehen, and he looked down at me with angry eyes as he panted in pain.

I supported myself in the air with _Flight Jutsu_, and I looked over at Kurt with a smile on my face and said, "I've never actually seen somebody try to block _Chidori_ with something as fragile as ice. That's like trying to take shelter in twigs from a tornado." Kurt didn't respond, and he aimed his arm at me and fired several shards of ice. I took out a kunai and knocked the ice shards out of the air, but the last one disarmed me and left Kurt wide open to close in on me with his Eisschwert raised. I quickly pulled out a kunai and held it out in front of me, and Kurt's strength drove me back through the air, leaving me just barely able to hold my defense.

Kurt held his opposite hand out and formed an Eisschwert across it as well, and my eyes widened as he brought his second sword down on top of me. Blood spattered through the air, and I dropped to the ground with blood flying from my arm, and I faced up at Kurt while I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu up at him, but he appeared beside me with his Eisschwert raised, but Daniel knocked him away with his bare foot, sending him flying down at an angle and smashing into the ground. Daniel and I hung in the air next to each other, both looking down at Kurt while I stemmed blood flow from my arm.

"You alright?" Daniel asked me while keeping his eyes on the dust cloud that Kurt was in.

"Yeah, I'm good," I answered. "Believe me, I've taken worse than this."

"I can tell," Daniel said. I looked at him, as it had seemed that Daniel's response had contained something close to admiration. A noise made me look back at Kurt, and several ice shards tore through the air, grazing my cheek while I backed off, and Daniel skillfully dodged them without taking a single hit. I made some hand signs and fired a _Phoenix Flower_ out at Kurt, but he used Schnell to evade them, moving back and forth as they came down and smashed into the ground. As soon as the fireballs were clear, Kurt shot up at me with one Eisschwert raised, and he aimed his other hand up at me and fired a volley of ice shards.

I flew to the side as they came up past me, and as Kurt closed in and swung his ice sword, I flew over him and stepped on his head, then jumped off as he swung his sword around. I spun around and hit him directly with a _Fireball Jutsu_, driving him down and smashing him into the ground. "Nice one!" Daniel said with a grin as he flew around. The smoke and flames cleared, and Kurt was kneeling in a crater that had been punched into the ground, and he was looking up at us with anger. _If I hadn't have put a layer of ice across my body, that would have been it,_ he thought to himself as he glared up at us.

"You're a scary kid," he said to me. "I didn't think shinobi would be this powerful. I've killed a few of them in my day, but none were anywhere near as powerful as you. What's even more impressive is that you're about half the age of the people I've killed. The thought of how much more powerful you're gonna get honestly frightens me."

"Thanks for the compliment," I said to him. "Now are we gonna finish this or not?"

Kurt rose to his feet, and he said, "Not today. I don't have any plans of losing my life, even if it means the boss is gonna be pissed off at me. Catch ya later." My eyes widened as I realized what was happening, and I said, "_Don't you dare!_" I rapidly wove hand signs, but he used Schnell to quickly move away from the battlefield, and he jumped across building after building so that I couldn't get a clear shot at him.

I made to fly after him, but a hand grabbed my wrist, and Daniel held me back with an iron grip. "Are we just gonna let him get away!?" I said angrily.

"If we pursue him, there's no telling what kind of traps he'll have set for us. It's better to stay put and help out the others."

As he said this, Gabriella and Steffen both laid in a massive crater that had been punched into the ground, which had leveled buildings within seventy feet of the blast point. Arthur was nowhere to be found, and at the same time people were trying to get a look at the destruction while London police forces had set up a barricade to hold them back. Steffen lay on his side on the ground with his jaw slightly ajar, and his eyes stared out blankly, showing no life. Gabriella, who was laying thirty feet away, slowly started to rise up, and she planted her palm on the ground to support herself while she looked around. She spotted Steffen's corpse nearby, and after she properly registered what she was saying, her teeth gritted and her eyes closed, and tears trickled down her face.

Four people appeared around her, and one of the Soldaten helped her to her feet and supported her while the other two grabbed Steffen. The group disappeared, leaving the scene of chaos.

A torrent of water dropped down through the air, and Marco shot to the side of it and let it crash into the ground, while he flung his arm out and fired a Dunkeljäger. Benjamin shot up into the air, and he fired a Wasserwachen from either hand that came at Marco from opposite sides. Marco saw them both coming, and he came to a stop and shot straight up into the air, allowing the water torrents to collide into the air. Benjamin slowly brought his arms up through the air to keep pace with Marco, and dozens of tiny water tendrils flew up at him from below. Marco looked down to see them coming, and he aimed both arms down and said, "_Kleinen Dunkeljäger!_"

He fired a volley of dark-purple blasts down at the water, which intercepted them all, and the two attacks cancelled each other out. A shadow appeared over Marco, and Helene came down on top of him with her fist raised and said, "_Tollen Körperteile!_" She rammed her fist into the top of Marco's head, sending him flying down and smashing into the ground. Benjamin held his arms out to either side, and water spiraled out of his arms and legs, gathering around him and forming a gigantic ball.

"_Flusstöd!_" One gigantic torrent of water came up into the air, and then dropped down on top of Marco and smashed him with hundreds of thousands of tons of pressure. Helene looked down with a grin on her face as water splashed across the streets, wetting people's ankles as well as the bases of buildings. All of the water that came from the Flusstöd diffused across a hundred feet, and Benjamin hovered in the air with his arms held down towards Marco, and he was panting in complete exhaustion. Marco lay on the ground with blood all over him, and he was face-up with his arms out to his sides. Helene dropped down and landed next to him, and she placed her forefinger and middle finger on the side of his neck.

After a few seconds, she rose back up and nodded to Benjamin. A half-hour later found the eleven Soldaten, Eva, and myself on top of a building well above the streets. Several of the Soldaten were looking down at Steffen's body, while the rest of them, as well as myself, were looking off the roof into the city, searching for signs of Kurt or Arthur. Helene and Gabriella both had puffy eyes, while everyone else had looks of deep despair on their faces. Daniel, on the other hand, had an expression of pure anger as he looked off the roof, looking down at the city and all of its inhabitants. The sun was starting to set on the horizon, and we would soon be in need of a place to stay. Helene walked over to Daniel and stood next to him, looking in the same direction as he was.

"What do you want to do with his body?"

"Give him a proper burial," Daniel answered. "One that he deserves."

"I'll help you find a good place to lay him to rest," Helene informed him. "We'll send the others to find a hotel for us for the night, and then catch up with them once we're done."

"Fine," Daniel said.

Two hours later, the twelve of us were crashing in a small hotel in the middle of the city. The office building was in one spot, while the other buildings of the hotel were situated roughly three blocks apart from each other. Each building was three stories tall, and they were brown with white trim. They were very modest in their surroundings, not standing out amongst the buildings whose windows jutted out from the main complex. The face of the hotel looked out onto a wide city street with many shops that were lit with signs and displays in the windows and coming out of the walls. The Soldaten were all getting ready for bed, each with varying levels of sadness. Daniel and Helene in particular were both seemingly distraught as they remembered back to when they put their comrade's body in the ground.

Meanwhile, I was sitting on the rooftop of the hotel, looking out at the city lights. The sun had just set, leaving traces of light in the sky, and the cool wind blew over me as I sat with my knees up to my chin, arms wrapped around my legs. I flashed back to my battles with the Decepticlones, as well as my fights with Starscream and Cyclonus. I remembered waking up with my Curse Mark having been activated as I faced Dosu, Zaku and Kin, and I instinctively reached my arm back and felt the spot where my Curse Mark was set into my flesh, like an evil tattoo. I remembered Taylor, Erin, and Nichi, helpless in an environment where everything that moved was likely out to kill them. I hoped that they were alright and that they had found a suitable place to set up camp.

More importantly, I hoped that the invasion force that McKinley had warned us about wouldn't move in on them while I was gone. I also wondered how the battle against the Decepticlones was faring, and rather the SNIS had managed to gain a foothold against these mechanical foes. And that was when I took on a smile as I realized the irony of the situation. Back in America, the country was in a dire situation, facing a threat that it didn't have the strength to match. The entire nation could be brought down at any point in time, and there would be no one to stop it. This was a very apparent threat that the entire country knew about, rather they were directly affected by it or not.

It was like a natural disaster. It was the claimer of countless lives who were completely helpless to defend themselves, and its presence was known by everyone, yet no one could do anything to stop it. Here, on the opposite side of the world, everything was peaceful. Looking out at this city, illuminated and glowing with life, no one would every guess that anything terrible was going on. It was clear that there was no unstoppable invasion just moments from taking place. And yet, if one were to search beneath the surface, the layer of life and activity that swept this beautiful city, the true heinousness of the situation took full light. This said beautiful city was in grave danger, but very few people overall were aware of it.

And yet, beneath all of the chaos of North America and the tranquility of Europe, anyone who had a good view of both threats would be able to say that the Blitzleute were far more dangerous than the Decepticlones.

The next morning, the Soldaten and I were getting ready to head out. I approached Daniel and asked him how we planned on sniffing out Kurt and Arthur. "Same way we did yesterday," he answered. "Walk around until we find them."

In spite of the fact that his would more than likely take all day, I didn't complain. We all set out, once again splitting up into our separate groups, and this time Gabriella was with Benjamin and Helene. Daniel, Eva and I walked through the expansive city, searching for signs of Kurt or Arthur. I had never realized before now just how big London really was. No matter how much we walked, we never seemed to make any ground in covering the entire city. I had been walking around in Saint Louis many times, but it was nowhere near as big as here. And the two cities looked entirely different as well. Saint Louis was very small and simple. The buildings had no intricate designs to them, but they stood tall and worked well.

Although centuries of time and crime have severely worn the city's beauty, if one knew where to look they could find a truly great place to call home. Along with this, all of the buildings in Saint Louis were modern. Nowhere could you look and find a building that was from the 1800s or earlier. London, on the other hand, was ageless. While constantly updated through the years, the buildings one would see while exploring the city still had the same frames as they had when they were first built. It was clear that this city had been around far longer than modern civilization.

As the three of us walked through the city, we eventually hit a major city square that was crammed with people. Buildings surrounded us on all sides, but mounted on one was a massive television screen, like what was in Madison Square Garden. This one was much wider than it was tall, and it was situated on a curve. Displayed on the screen was a news report about our battle with the Blitzleute yesterday. From what the reporter said, it was unclear exactly what had gone on, but the camera displayed scenes of chaos across the city. Buildings were in flames while there were craters gouged out of the ground, and special attention was paid to the Olympic ring I had torn out, as well as the gigantic crater it had punched into the London Tower Bridge.

The scene then shifted, and my heart dropped. A forty-foot crater had been gouged out of the ground, which was black and burnt from Arthur's attack which had killed Steffen, as well as sixty-two other people. Before the report could go on, a voice rang out, "People of London!" The crowd in the square all looked around as one to the roof of a building looking over us, and Kurt stood right at the edge with his arms held up into the air. Arthur stood off to the side, looking at his commander with glee. "My name is Kurt Leberecht," he announced to the crowd at large. It was maybe two seconds before the big screen shifted to a view of him standing on the roof.

"I am here to tell you that a threat has been unleashed against this beautiful city. Your home was attacked, your buildings were destroyed, and your people were killed. This heinous act was committed by a group of terrible people who must pay for their actions! We are the Blitzleute, and we live to bring down the evils that threaten this nation and this world." He said all of this with a smile that reminded me of a fox closing in on its prey. "And the people you are looking for, the ones who must be punished for their crimes, are right there!" He pointed a finger directly down at us, and the view in the big screen shifted from him to us.

"Is he serious?" I said to Daniel with a disbelieving look.

"It would appear so," he responded with a similar expression.

As we looked around, the people surrounding us had looks of shock and confusion on their faces, but they were quickly turning to realization and anger as they slowly began to close in on us. The big screen then split into four sections, and each showed similar views. In Paris, Lucerne, Vaduz, and Munich, members of the Blitzleute were standing over a crowd of watchers, declaring their sainthood and condemning the rebels as the ones who were out to destroy Europe. I looked left and right, and then up at Kurt with gritted teeth, who looked back down at me with a triumphant smile.

"I'm not really good at dealing with angry civilians. I tend to scorch them," I said to Daniel as I shifted my eyes around.

Daniel stepped back, trying to avoid confrontation with the crowd, and he shielded Eva behind him as he said, "If you think you can take them both, by all means. The others should be here soon."

I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and shot straight up at Kurt, whose grin widened as he waited for me to come. He and Arthur both disappeared with the effect of Schnell, and I came up and landed on the roof they had been standing on, and then looked around. "_Nichtsfeuer!_" The roof of the building exploded violently, and I dropped out of the smoke and flames and crashed to the ground. When the smoke and dust I had brought up around me cleared, I rose to one knee with burns and blood all over me, and I glared up at Kurt and Arthur, who were floating in the air over the city square.

"Get him!" A group of roughly a dozen people had surrounded me, and they were stepping in towards me with sticks and knives.

"Ah, Jesus," I said under my breath. I reactivated my _Flight Jutsu_ and shot up at Kurt and Arthur once again, but they both backed off as I came level with them. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu out at them, but they both evaded it and let it fly over the city.

I shot at Kurt with a kunai raised, but he held his arm out and said, "_Eisschwert!_" His ice sword formed across his arm, and we swung our blades into each other, sending sparks flying out from the contact point. Kurt swung his leg at me, but I blocked it with my knee and allowed him to knock me back through the air. Kurt leaped up and came down on top of me with his sword raised, but I blocked it with my kunai and was sent flying down towards the ground. I back-flipped and balanced myself in the air with my _Flight Jutsu_, and I glared back up at Kurt.

"_Nichtsfeuer!_" My eyes widened as the area around me exploded in flames, and Arthur hovered in the air, arm held down to where the explosion had broken. I appeared behind him and swung my kunai, but he moved forward so that I could only nick him.

He spun around through the air to face me, and Kurt held his arm down at me and said, "_Eisschießen!_" He fired several shards of ice at me, but I flew back and forth out of the way of all of them, and then wove signs and fired a _Phoenix Flower Jutsu _up at him. Kurt's eyes widened, and he used Schnell to evade all of the fireballs, which all flew up into the sky. Kurt reappeared to my right with his arm pointed at me, and he fired another volley of ice shards before I had a chance to even look at him. I ducked the first few and dropped out of the way of the rest, but one of them grazed my forehead, spattering blood through the air as I leveled out.

As soon as I came to a stop, I felt the air around me condense, as if the atmosphere itself was getting ready to attack me. I recognized the sensation instantly and super-sped out of the way just before the area exploded, sending tendrils of flame through the air as Arthur hung nearby, hand held out to the blast. I came down on top of him with a _Rasengan_ raised, and he was hit right in the top of the head, my jutsu sending him spiraling down and smashing into the ground. The people who were watching all let out gasps of horror as dust billowed into the air from the crater Arthur had punched into the ground.

"He's not the good guy!" I said irritably as I looked down at all the worried faces.

One woman looked up at me and said, in her British accent, "Yeah, okay, and I suppose you're the one who's going to save us all? We saw the videos, we know it was you who destroyed our city!"

"Yes, in an effort to take down the real threat here!" I responded angrily.

That was when an ice shard landed in my shoulder, driving me down and slamming me into the ground. The people cheered as blood pooled on the ground under me, and I lay on the ground with the two-foot spike sticking out of my shoulder. I rapidly pulled it out, spattering more blood from the wound, but I put my hand shrouded in green chakra to it and started healing the injury. "Don't listen to them!" Kurt implored, still with his cheeky grin. "They are the enemy, friends! They are the ones that will try to bring this city to the ground unless you and I stop them together!"

Daniel looked up at Kurt with gritted teeth, and he thought to himself, _These people are so damn impressionable, it's sickening. If Kurt keeps this crap up, we're gonna be on wanted posters all across London. And then there's the problem that the other Blitzleute are doing the exact same thing in their own cities. We have to stop them as quickly and quietly as possible, otherwise we'll have the European law to deal with. Which isn't what I bargained on._

"People!" Kurt said. "Assist me in bringing down this wretched scum that threatens your home!" Kurt looked around as a fire-kunai flew up at him from below, and the explosion that resulted knocked him out of the air and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Oh, no!" someone from the crowd screamed.

"Shut your damn mouth!" I stood on the ground with my arm held out in front of me, and I was panting in pure rage as I looked over at the spot where Kurt had landed.

"Help me!" The dust around Kurt cleared, and Kurt was in a sitting position on the ground, looking at me with fear. Although as I looked into his eyes, I could tell that the fear was fake. "Please!" he pleaded. "Fellow citizens, save me! Keep him from killing me, I don't wish to die here!"

_Son of a bitch!_ Daniel thought to himself savagely as he made for Kurt. Someone grabbed his shirt, and he looked around to see a man who had a large tree branch raised over his head. The man swung the branch, but Daniel knocked it away with his bare hand, backing off to avoid further confrontation. "Sir, please back off," Daniel said firmly.

"I'm not gonna let you terrorize us anymore than you already have," he said confidently.

_Dammit,_ Daniel thought to himself. He used Schnell and shot up into the air near me while I faced Kurt with a kunai raised. Kurt had one Eisschwert, but he held his bare arm out and formed a second one.

I quickly wove some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a wave of fire at Kurt, but he ducked out of the way, letting it fly overhead while he backed off. Something small and very hard then hit me across the face, almost knocking me out of the air as blood trickled down the side of my head. I looked around to see where it came from, and I saw the crowd below aiming rocks up at me.

I super-sped back and forth to evade the volley of tiny death projectiles, and as I did so, I said irritably, "You just saw me shoot off fire, and you're gonna throw rocks at me!?"

The rocks didn't let up, and I started to become angry as I looked over at Kurt, who watched me with a grin on his face. "Alright then, you asshole, let's try this a different way," I said as I made four hand signs. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired out an intense jet of flames directly at Kurt, who was shocked at how powerful the attack was. He just barely came to the side of it, with the flames charring his shirt, and he swung his arm through the air, firing several shards of ice at me. I knocked all of the shards out of the air with a kunai, and that was when the _Dragon Flame Jutsu_ hit the top of a building and blew the top half to smithereens.

Tendrils of flame as well as burning rubble cascaded down on top of the crowd, which ran in all directions with their arms covering their heads, and the rest of the building collapsed to the ground in flames. _Dumbass,_ Daniel thought to himself as he stood there with an exasperated expression. "Whoops," I said with a guilty look as I had my hand behind my head. My eyes then widened as Kurt appeared behind me with his Eisschwert raised, and I had been too distracted to resist or evade him.

That was when water erupted into existence between us, knocking both Kurt and I away from each other. Benjamin stood on the roof of a nearby building with both arms held out to the water. Kurt backed off from the Wasserwaschen, but a second torrent came up from below and hit him from behind, knocking him into the first, and the two torrents collected around him and then spat him out into the air. "_Tollen Körperteile!_" As Kurt somersaulted through the air, Helene came down on top of him and rammed her foot into the top of his head, sending him flying down and smashing into the ground while she dropped down with him.

The dust from the impact cleared, and Helene had Kurt pinned on the ground with her fist raised over him, and her fist was brimming with power. "How dare you?" she said angrily. "How dare you play yourselves off to be the good guys and make _us_ look like the bad guys? I hope Johann's watching this, because this'll be a good warning for what's coming to him."

She then brought her fist down on top of Kurt, and her strength blasted up dust and rubble around them, while lines were torn out of the ground going out from them, bringing more dust with them. The crowd watched with horror, and the news camera filming the battle displayed the destruction on the big screen. Benajmin, Daniel, Eva and I all watched as the other Soldaten appeared on buildings surrounding the square. The dust cleared, and Helene stood over Kurt, who was lying on the ground with blood spilling out of his mouth onto the earth. Helene was panting in anger as she looked down at his corpse, but she then looked around at the people surrounding her.

She took in all of their terrified looks, their remorse for Kurt's death, and her teeth gritted as she became even angrier. Daniel put his hand on her shoulder, and he said, "We need to get out of here."

Helene panted in anger, and then said, "Yeah."

Eva ran over and put her hand on Daniel's arm, and the two of them disappeared, followed by the rest of the Soldaten, and finally me.

The Soldatens ship flew through the air, eventually leaving London and passing over the English Channel. Daniel and Helene flew the ship without speaking, while the rest of us sat in the cargo hold, equally as silent. I had treated my own wounds, while the Soldaten had used the first-aid kit stored in the ship. None of us spoke to each other during the flight, and I had my mind split between Johann and Henrik, as well as Nichi and my cousins. I was worried about whether the Decepitclones had found them yet, but I was even more worried about what the Blitzleute were planning next.

In about twenty minutes we hit the coast of France, and we flew over miles of endless farmland dotted with tiny buildings. After another forty minutes we hit the outskirts of Paris, and Helene activated the cloaking device so that we wouldn't be seen by the people in the city. We came to a point somewhere towards the center of the city, and Helene and Daniel set the ship down. We all got out, leaving the cloaked ship behind while we prepared to split up into our groups and search.

Before we could move out, Daniel said, "Hold on." We all stopped and looked around, and even Helene seemed curious at what Daniel was about to say. "We've received reports that the Blitzleute forces in Paris are stronger than they were in London. If we don't want to get killed, we should stick together and fight them as a team."

"Okay, but we're wanted across the entire continent," I reminded him. "We need to remain inconspicuous so that we don't get caught by police. Moving in a huge group will make us stick out like flies."

That was when Daniel looked at me with a smile on his face, and he said, "You don't do much traveling outside America, do you?"

"Well…no, I'm thirteen," I said to him. "I haven't really had the opportunity to go outside my own borders. Why do you ask?"

"Because, you obviously don't know how tourism works," he informed me. "Big groups? You're not gonna go fifty feet without seeing at least five of them. In a huge tourist attraction like this, big tourist groups of fifteen to twenty people are the norm. We would look more conspicuous as Americans traveling in groups of two or three. Traveling together, we'll fit right in."

With this, the twelve of us walked the streets of Paris. Paris, unlike London, gave off the impression that one was looking at the same buildings that were present when the city was first built. The buildings were old and grand, having seven and eight stories stacked on top of each other. Some of the buildings also traveled several hundred feet down the road they faced, with no end to them visible to the naked eye. We eventually came to one of these buildings, and as I looked up at the name displayed over the doorway, my face fell. _MUSEE DU LOUVRE_.

"This is…the Louvre?" I asked, looking up at it with awe.

"That's right," Daniel said as he patted my shoulder. "You're about to see some of the oldest pieces of history this world has to offer." The inside of the Louvre seemed as endless as the outside. Three halls led off down different sections of the Louvre, each with different pieces of art lining it. At the end of these halls stood each, the Mona Lisa, the Nike of Samothrace, and the Venus de Milo. We split up into groups of four and explored the pieces down each of the three halls. Afterwards, we met outside in the back, where a large group of people had congregated to take photos.

A large, glass pyramid had also been constructed coming out of the ground, and many people had gathered to admire it. I looked in the distance, and couldn't help but smile at what I saw. "Yeah," Daniel said as I looked at the Arc de Triomphe, roughly five miles in the distance. "You'll be seeing that soon, along with the Eiffel Tower. We're gonna make sure you see it all while we're here."

"Is this a battle or a vacation?" I asked with a grin on my face.

Daniel chuckled and said, "Both."

"Do you have any idea where the Blitzleute might be?" Helene asked Daniel.

Without looking at her, Daniel said, "No, I don't, but I imagine they can't be far. We've done everything we can to make ourselves easy to find with Sehen. There's no way they can't know we're here, so they must be hiding and setting up some kind of trap. Keep your guard up, guys."

With this, we spent another hour exploring the Louvre, seeing as much as we possibly could. I guess Daniel had been right; moving in a large group brought no negative attention on us whatsoever. After we were done, we left the Louvre, and Daniel made the decision to go see the Arc de Triomphe. We boarded a double-decker bus and sat up top, leaving ourselves with a good view of the city as we rode through. Like in London, it amazed me how our bus driver could weave in and out of traffic so skillfully, when I was positive any American driver would almost instantly be in a wreck.

After forty-five minutes, the bus-driver dropped us off at the Arc. The Arc was in a small, grassy area, with a circular road surrounding it and avenues leading out in a dozen different directions. I looked on hopelessly at the road surrounding the Louvre, which was packed with five layers of cars fighting to get in and out. "Are we really supposed to cross that?" I asked.

"No," Daniel said. "We're going over here." He led the way to a staircase that went underground into an artificially lit hallway that had tourists shuffling to and from the Arc. The twelve of us came out in the square that the Arc was on, and we looked up at the massive structure towering over everything surrounding it.

"That is impressive," I said with astonishment as I looked straight up.

"Yeah," Daniel agreed.

"We could go up in it, but I don't feel like waiting for two hours in the line."

"Uh, I agree," I stated. I was paying attention to what was going on around me, while Helene seemed to be more focused on where the Blitzleute were and what they were planning. After we were done at the Arc, we took another bus and hit the Eiffel Tower next. My jaw dropped as I looked up at its towering structure, easily the tallest building in all of Paris. "You gotta think, some of these buildings are three hundred years older than your country," Daniel said to me. I didn't respond, but I knew that he was absolutely right. As we continued seeing the sights, I eventually came to forget that this was a mission to bring down people who threatened the world.

I also forgot that we were wanted men, and we moved so quickly between tourist sites that it was hard for anyone to get a good look at us. After another three hours of walking around, it seemed that the Blitzleute weren't going to show up, but then Daniel said, "Rooftop, ten o'clock." We all looked in the direction he was indicating, and saw a woman wearing a black cloak looking down at us.

"In front of us," Helene said. I looked and saw a man leaning against a building, looking through the crowd at us as well. Something instinctively made me look behind us, and I saw another woman walking towards us, looking me straight in the eye. There was a man across the street, and another one playing an acoustic guitar nearby, and they were both looking at us.

"It looks like we're surrounded," I concluded as all five of them faced us.

"What happens now?" Helene asked.

"We play it cool and let them make the first move," Daniel answered.

"We won't attack until they do, but we'll split into teams and take them on separately. Benjamin, command Gabriella and Helene and take the one in front," Daniel ordered. "Jacob and Wilhelm, cover the one at eleven o'clock. Sabine and Lisa, take on the woman behind us. Sebastian and Catarina, you'll take the one with the guitar, and Matt and I will fight the one on the rooftop. Understood?"

All of the Soldtaten confirmed their orders, and we waited for one of the Blitzleute to make a move. Finally, the one in front of us came out to the center of the sidewalk, clapped his hands together, and said, "_Michmachen!_" Five clones of him appeared from out of nowhere, and they all shot at us. "Incoming," I said to the Soldaten as I pulled out a kunai. I prepared to combat the clones, but as soon as one came within arm's reach, it exploded violently, sending a pillar of white-hot flame shooting into the air over the city. Daniel and the other Soldaten all watched with wide eyes as they were illuminated by the explosion, and the Blitzleute surrounding us all had triumphant grins on their faces.

"What the hell are you so happy about?" The woman on the rooftop widened her eyes in shock as I stood behind her, and I had black lines going across my body. The lines were like a tattoo, and they resembled cracks in the earth. I also had blood running down my face and arms, and my shirt and pants had singed holes in them. "You think it's gonna take something like that to kill me? You don't know who you're messing with." The woman looked behind her at me in shock, and I said, "I take it you're the commander of the Parisian Blitzleute? Then this shouldn't take that long at all." I swung my fist around, and a portion of the roof was blasted off, sending dust into the air and rubble down to the ground.

Bystanders ran away from the scene, and the woman dropped out of the dust with her arms over crossed in front of her. I shot out of the dust at her with my fist raised, and I rammed it into her arms, propelling her down and smashing her into the ground with the force of a cannonball. A cloud of dust rose twenty feet into the air, and I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and levitated in place, looking down at the dust. The Soldaten and Blitzleute alike all watched with pure shock at what they were seeing, and the clone maker, after a couple stuttering attempts at speech, told his other clones to attack me. The clones each activated Stehen and shot up at me, but I made some hand signs and fired a volley of _Fireball Jutsus_ down at them.

The clones used Schnell to evade the onslaught, and the _Fireballs_ collided into a building and blasted out the first three stories, sending the rest toppling to the ground. Each of the clones appeared around me, but I shot straight up into the air before they could detonate. When I came thirty feet above them, I made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Ember Shot!_" I fired several fireballs down in between the clones, and all of the fireballs then exploded into a dozen smaller fireballs that bombarded them all. The clones didn't detonate, nor did they disappear, and I immediately shot straight down at the original Blitzleute member.

His eyes widened as he saw me coming, and he shot straight up into the air to evade me, while I landed where he had been and looked up at him. I made some more hand signs and fired a _Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ up at him, and while he flew out of the way of the fireballs, they all followed him through the air. All of his clones shot down at me, but I made a single hand sign and formed _Shadow Clone_ to match their numbers. My _Shadow Clones_ each intercepted the Blitzleute's clones, and the Blitzleute's clones all detonated, igniting a gargantuan explosion that sucked the oxygen right out of the air.

As the original Blitzleute continued evading my _Phoenix Flower_, I braced myself, and rammed the side of my fist into the top of his head, sending him flying down and smashing into the ground. I then made some hand signs and fired a _Fireball Jutsu_, which collided directly into him and raised another explosion of smoke and flames into the air. "What…the hell is this?" Daniel asked as he watched the scene in shock. The smoke and flames cleared, and the Blitzleute member lay in a fiery crater punched into the ground, with burns and blood all over him, and it was clear that he wasn't breathing. The other Blitzleute, as well as the rebels and Eva, all looked on with wide eyes, and it seemed nobody wanted to make a move.

I looked around at all of the Blitzleute and said, "And here I thought you guys were supposed to be strong. Guess I was wrong. Oh, well, this means I'll be able to make this quick." I moved my head out of the way of a lavender, dart-shaped blast that would have hit me square in the face, and I looked down at the woman I had knocked into the ground. She had one arm held out, her other hand grasping it just below the shoulder, and she was clutching a small sword that was about eighteen inches long, and it was flowing with lavender energy that resembled smoke.

I then took on a smile and said, "I didn't know you guys had weapons. That should make this a little bit more interesting. What's your name?"

"I am Anna Dietrich," she answered in a quiet voice. "And the name of my Kraft is Lilaschwert."

"I didn't really need to know that last bit, but that's alright," I said as I braced myself to charge.

"You mean you don't want to know the name of the attack that's going to kill you?" Anna said with a smile.

"Oh, I do want to know the name of the attack that would kill me, but Lilaschwert isn't it," I said to her with a similar grin.

Anna's grin dropped to a grimace, and she fired another dart of energy from her blade at me. I super-sped out of the way and allowed the dart to fly up into the air, and I reappeared behind Anna, bent down with a _Chidori_ flowing around my hand. She spun around with wide eyes and swung her energy-enhanced sword, and the collision of our attacks generated a massive explosion that blasted the ground out and sent rubble flying through the air. Most of the area had been cleared of bystanders by this point, and it was just the Soldaten that had to block their faces from the rubble. When the dust cleared, I was standing on my feet while Anna was on her knees.

She was panting and glaring up at me, and she had blood all over her. I, on the other hand, was unharmed, and was looking down at her with a maliciously nonchalant expression. Anna tightened her grip around her sword, but I tore a kunai through her torso, spattering blood across the ground while Anna dropped to a sitting position, and her breath was coming in short, painful gasps. "Ma'am!" The Blitzleute member that had been behind us shot at me, but Sabine and Lisa both intercepted her, keeping her from coming at me.

"Sorry," said the girl with short, black hair named Sabine. "We were ordered to make sure you fought us." She and her companion, a girl with brown hair in a braid down to the small of her back named Lisa, looked at the female Blitzleute with smiles.

"Get out of my way," the woman said.

"Dude, we just told you we were ordered to fight you," Sabine said exasperatedly. "We're not about to step aside."

The woman growled, and she clapped her hands together and said, "_Erdemann!_" The ground in front of her cracked apart, and out of it rose a human-shaped figure made of pure dirt and rock that stood six feet tall. Sabine and Lisa looked at it without fear, and they prepared for battle.

The man with the guitar started playing, and he said, "_Todmüsik!_" A sonic wave emanated from his guitar, and a horrible screeching sound tore through the Soldatens ears, making most of them drop to their knees.

"Damn!" Daniel said as the Todmüsik finally subsided. "Sebastian! Catarina! Get on that asshole! And if you have earplugs, use them!"

A man with long, flowing blond hair down to his back and a girl with black hair put into two skinny braids on either side of her head stepped up to meet the guitarist. The final Blitzleute came down on top of the rebels with his fist raised, but they all managed to evade his strike as he punched out a five-foot crater into the ground. Daniel backed off, and he said, "Jacob, Wilhelm! That's all you!" Two brothers, whose only identifiable difference was that Jacob Grimm had dull-gray, short hair and Wilhelm Grimm had light-brown hair the same in style, both closed in on the attacker.

"So, uh, what do we do?" Benjamin, Helene and Gabriella were all left to just stand there, since their opponent had already been killed.

"Help whoever looks like they need help," Daniel answered. "Although I wouldn't advise going anywhere near Matt's fight unless you feel like getting killed."

"What, you gonna write me off already?" The four of them looked around to see the clone maker leaning against a building just inside a nearby alley, and he was looking at them with a grin.

"We probably should have seen that one coming," Helene commented.

"Great, now you have an opponent," Daniel said to them.

The three of them faced the clone maker while Daniel jumped up, and he landed on the roof of a building and paid his full attention to my battle with Anna. An explosion blasted down towards the ground, and Anna dropped out of it with her sword held out in front of her, but I appeared behind her and kicked her back up into the air, then fired a _Fireball_ after her. Anna spun around through the air and swung her sword through the _Fireball_, slicing it in half and sending it flying to either side of her while she swung her sword, firing an arc of lavender energy down at me. I flew out of the way and let it smash into the ground, and I then came straight up at Anna with a kunai raised.

Anna swung her sword and cleaved the blade straight off my knife, but I swung my foot around and hit her straight in the gut, knocking her back and slightly up into the air while I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a wave of white-hot flames up at her, but she evaded it with Schnell and came to the side of it, firing another arc of energy at me. I super-sped to just over the arc, and I then threw several shuriken at her that she knocked out of the air with her sword. She shot at me while she concentrated energy into her sword, but I made some hand signs and fired another _Fireball Jutsu_ at her.

She sliced her sword through the fireball once again, and before she closed the gap between us she fired an arc of energy, forcing me to cross my arms in defense as I was driven down and smashed into the ground. I shot out of the dust with the Tiger sign weaved, and I fired four _Dragon Darts_ at her that she held her sword out to block. The _Dragon Darts_ all collided into her and enveloped her in flames, but when they cleared she had a large, circular shield in front of her that left her completely unharmed. Anna swung her sword out, firing a volley of four energy arcs at me, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Air Shield!_"

The air around me condensed into a sphere that blocked all of the arcs, leaving me unharmed while I made some more hand signs. I fired a _Fireball_ directly into the _Air Shield_, causing it to blow up into a massive wave of flames as it came at Anna, illuminating her with an orange glow. Anna held her sword out and formed another shield, and the flames hit her head-on and blew past her like a gigantic torrent that had Anna caught at the root. I watched her with a small grin on my face, waiting to see what had happened to her. The flames cleared, and Anna hadn't been harmed by the flames.

She concentrated lavender energy into her sword, and we both prepared to go in again. Jacob held both hands out and caught the punch of Blitzleute member Philip Ordulf, but Philip's strength knocked him back through the air, sending him smashing into a building. Wilhelm came in and swung his own fist, but Philip knocked it away with a swipe of his arm, and then kicked Wilhelm in the gut, sending him flying back as well.

"Jesus, what is with this guy?" Jacob asked as he wiped blood from his forehead. He stepped out of the building he had been knocked into and glared at Philip, who looked back at him with a small smile.

"Come on, don't you remember his power?" Wilhelm asked. "His Kraft is called Stark, and it makes his skin as hard as concrete."

"Good memory, Wilhelm," Philip said. "But I don't need to tell you that knowing what it does has nothing to do with you actually beating it. You should know that from the last time we fought." Philip's eyes then narrowed as Jacob appeared behind him with his fist raised, but Philip spun around and swung his arm, hitting Jacob in the gut. Philip's strength sent Jacob into a building that was ten feet back, smashing out the majority of it and sending rubble crashing down. Wilhelm flew at Philip from behind with his fist raised, but Philip evaded it with Schnell, and then kicked Wilhelm into the ground from above, sending dust flying into the air.

Philip flew back out of the dust and landed on the ground, and Jacob and Wilhelm were both dizzy from their injuries. "Come on," Philip said as he watched them. "You're never gonna beat me if you don't use your own Kräfte, so what are you waiting for?"

Wilhelm shook his head to clear it, and he then glared at Philip with gritted teeth, while Philip looked back with his same small grin. Wilhelm then aimed his palm at him and said, "_Nordenkalt!_" A wave of light-blue air shot out of his palm at Philip, who evaded it with Schnell. The Nordenkalt hit a car and the ground around it, forming large icicles across the entire surface. Philip appeared directly over Wilhelm's head with his hardened fist raised, but Wilhelm looked up and put his hand up to defend him. Philip rammed his fist into the Wilhelm's palm, but more icicles shot out in a circle from the impact point, absorbing Philip's strike. Philip's grin widened as he pressed down on top of Wilhelm, and cracks started to form in the ice.

"_Südenheiß!_" Philip looked around and disappeared just before a wave of orange air blew past, and the ice coming off Wilhelm's palm shattered as he looked around. Jacob appeared nearby, looking around as well, and Philip finally appeared twenty feet away from them. The brothers prepared themselves for Philip's attack, and Philip charged in with his fist raised. Wilhelm bent down and placed his palm on the ground, and a single gigantic icicle came up out of the ground in front of him, defending him from Philip. Philip's grin widened even more, and he rammed his fist into the icicle, blasting apart with sheer force, sending the ice pieces flying through the air.

Philip stepped in and swung his fist again, but Wilhelm ducked under it and allowed the force of the punch to blow air past Wilhelm. Wilhelm placed his palm on Philip's gut, but Philip jumped back, landing twenty feet away. A circle of ice had appeared at Philip's gut where Wilhelm had touched, and while he still had a grin on his face, Philip's teeth were gritted in pain. That was when a wave of orange air blasted him from behind, and he was thrown forward as his skin became burnt and his clothes became scorched. Philip hit the ground with smoke rising up from his body, and he looked around through half-opened eyes at Jacob, who lowered his arm and looked down at him.

Philip struggled to his feet, but the Brothers Grimm both fired their respective Kräfte at him. Philip disappeared with the effect of Schnell, and he came out on a rooftop out of the sight of Jacob and Wilhelm, and he was kneeled down and panting in pain. _They've gotten better,_ he thought to himself as he looked behind him to the edge of the rooftop. _Last time I fought those two, they didn't have control over their powers, and they had absolutely no capacity for teamwork. Now they have full control of their Kräfte, and they're attacking like they share the same mind. I'm probably not gonna make it out of this one. _

A rushing sound made him look around, and Jacob and Wilhelm were both standing on the roof in front of him. Philip straightened himself up, and he braced himself to charge as the brothers concentrated their Kräfte into their hands. "_Todmüsik!_" A sonic wave ruptured the air, and Catarina was caught head-on and forced to her knees, while Sebastian appeared to the side of her and shot at the guitarist Blitzleute, Emil Ludwig, held his guitar in preparation.

"That won't work on me," Sebastian said to him. Emil fired a wave of sound, but Sebastian disappeared before it could hit him, coming out five feet behind Emil. Emil spun around and strummed his guitar some more, but Sebastian disappeared once again, allowing the wave to blast up dust from the ground. "_Lichtpheil!_" Sebastian was directly above Emil, and he was wielding a bow and arrow made entirely of yellow light. Sebastian pulled back on the string and released his arrow, and Emil just barely managed to dive out of the way, allowing the arrow to blast out a chunk of the ground.

Emil hit the ground face-up, keeping his grip on his guitar, and Sebastian landed on the ground in front of him, looking down at him with a grin while he held his bow at his side. "I like your Kraft," Sebastian stated to Emil.

"A battle is a display of art, and your power demonstrates that beautifully!" Sebastian held his arms out to his sides and up into the air, and he was beaming at Emil as the latter glared up at him through gritted teeth, arm wrapped around to the wound on his back.

_Here he goes again,_ Catarina said as she looked at Sebastian exasperatedly. "Alright!" Sebastian said excitedly. "Come at me again! Show me your beautiful melody in all of its lethality!" Emil looked like he didn't know how to respond to this, but he got back to his feet and started playing a melody. Sebastian flashed a grin before disappearing, and an arrow landed in the back of Emil's shoulder, putting him on his knees. Catarina simply watched while Sebastian lowered his bow, and he looked down at Emil with a grin on his face while blood pooled on the ground under him. Emil rose to one knee and panted heavily, but he disappeared with the effect of Schnell, and came out behind Sebastian.

Sebastian spun around and aimed his bow at Emil, and Emil played a melody the exact instant that Sebastian fired an arrow, and the sonic wave extinguished the arrow and came at Sebastian. Sebastian barrel-rolled out of the way, and he came to one knee and fired another arrow at Emil. Emil came to the side of it and played a melody, but Sebastian jumped into the air and aimed his arrow at Emil once again. "That trick's getting old," Emil said as he played another melody.

"Yes, and so is that one," Sebastian retorted. He fired an arrow, and then disappeared and came out right behind Emil. Emil looked around in horror as Sebastian fired an arrow, but Emil rolled out of the way, allowing the arrow to fly past, and Sebastian quickly conjured another arrow out of thin air and aimed it at Emil. Emil played a melody, but Sebastian disappeared, and an arrow landed in Emil's shoulder from above, making his eyes widen in shock as he dropped to his knees. "Emil, Emil, Emil." Sebastian landed on the ground behind him and nocked another arrow, and he aimed it right at Emil's head.

"You never were very powerful, even for a Soldaten. I don't remember you winning a single battle, even with your beautiful Kraft. It's a good thing you're with an enemy that has such an unsightly goal. This way I won't feel as guilty killing you. Now then, goodbye, Emil, and may you enjoy the afterlife."

Catarina watched as Sebastian released his arrow, and Emil dropped to the ground, blood pooling out from under him. "Alright, let's go help out the others," Sebastian said to Catarina.

"Right," she responded. They both disappeared, and at the same time a pillar of explosive light rose up into the sky over the city. Benjamin flew back out of the smoke cloud that set afterwards, and he aimed his arms down and fired a torrent of water. The clone maker, Fritz Gundolf, clapped his hands together and conjured another clone right in front of him. The clone shot up to intercept the water and detonated upon impact, raising another pillar of light into the air.

"_Langarm!_" Gabriella, who was standing on a nearby rooftop, fired her fist down at Fritz, but Fritz ducked it before it could hit him, allowing the fist to smash into the ground. Gabriella reeled herself in, holding her legs out as she closed in on Fritz, but Fritz conjured another clone and sent it straight up at her. Gabriella sent both her legs out at the clone, but he knocked them both aside and closed the gap between himself and Gabriella. The clone grabbed Gabriella's arms and held her there, and he broke into a grin as he started to glow, making Gabriella's eyes widen in horror.

"_Tollen Körperteile!_" Helene came in from the side and slid between the clone and Gabriella, and she kicked the clone as hard as he could, sending him flying into the air away from the two of them. The clone then detonated, but Helene and Gabriella were both well away from the blast and were therefore unharmed. Helene then looked at Gabriella and said, "Use your powers and throw me at the original."

"Okay," Gabriella said. She grabbed Helene's wrist and swung her in circles around her, gradually extending her arm out and increasing Helene's momentum. Gabriella then released Helene and sent her flying straight at the Fritz, who looked up with wide eyes and said,

"Oh, jeez!"

"_Tollen Körperteile!_" Helene somersaulted through the air and swung her foot directly at Fritz, hitting him directly and blasting dust fifteen feet out from them as rubble flew through the air. Helene flew out of the dust and landed on the side of a building, looking down at the dust and waiting to see what had become of Fritz. Fritz shot out of the dust at Helene, but she shot out of the way and let the clone detonate, blasting out a chunk of the building that Helene had been standing on. Helene flew through the air, but three more clones of Fritz shot out of the dust after her, and she was unable to outrun them as they all surrounded her and grabbed her.

The clones all detonated, lighting off an almighty explosion that shattered the very air itself, and the gigantic pillar of light eventually faded into smoke that floated through the air over Paris. A trail of smoke dropped out of the cloud, and Helene came down and smashed into a rooftop, rocking the entire building and startling the people inside. The dust cleared, and Fritz had blood all over him as he stood with his legs bent, looking in the direction that Helene hand landed. Gabriella's extended arm tore through the ground from above in a line that came at Fritz from behind, but he dove out of the way and allowed the arm to come past, gouging out a broad line in the ground. "_Wasserwaschen!_"

Benjamin fired a torrent down at Fritz while he was still getting back to his feet, but he used Schnell to evade it, allowing the water to crash into the ground. Fritz appeared in the air behind Benjamin, and he quickly conjured a clone that shot straight at him. Benjamin quickly threw up a Wasserhaus around himself to defend against the clone's detonation, and when the explosion died down, Benjamin hung in the air panting and with blood running down his face. A hand wrapped around Fritz's ankle, and Gabriella pulled him down with all her strength, and then threw him directly into the ground, raising dust into the air around him. Gabriella hovered in the air over Fritz's crash site, waiting to see what had happened to him. The dust cleared, and Fritz was sprawled across the ground with blood all over him, and the ground under him had been broken apart from his crash.

He finally started to stir, but Gabriella aimed the bottom of her foot down at him and said, "_Langbein!_" Her leg shot down at him before he was even able to react, and Fritz was pounded straight back into the ground, sending cracks traveling out from him. Gabriella retracted her foot, and she then shot down at Fritz with her fist raised. Fritz opened her eyes and saw her coming, but he was in too much pain to do anything as she closed in on him. Gabriella closed the gap and rammed her fist into Fritz's gut with all her strength, and Fritz spat out blood as his limbs went flailing through the air.

Gabriella let up and stood over him, and Fritz lay on the ground, eyes open and staring blankly, and there was blood dribbling out of his mouth onto the ground. Benjamin, who had been watching the entire time, immediately turned around and shot off through the air. Gabriella saw him go, and she flew off after him. The two descended down and landed on the ground, and Gabriella watched while Benjamin bent down, examining Helene's injuries while she looked up at them with a somber expression. "How are the others doing?" she asked in barely more than a whisper.

"Sebastian and Catarina have won," Benjamin reported. "Jacob and Wilhelm have their opponent on the ropes; they won't be much longer, but Lisa and Sabine are struggling."

As he said that an explosion of dust blasted up into the air from a few streets away. Lisa dropped to one knee, and she had blood running down her face and arm, and she was glaring at the dirt golem that was looming ten feet away, hunched over with its arms hanging out in front of it. "_Sternlicht!_" Sabine, who was standing on a rooftop, firing a beam of yellow light from her palm down at the golem, who made no reaction has the beam hit and exploded, generating a giant dome of yellow light. The controller of the golem, Kirstin Dortmund, shielded her eyes from the bright light radiating off the dome, and during that time the golem was immobile.

"Sabine, you destroy the golem, I'll take care of Kirstin!" Lisa said. She immediately charged in while Sabine conjured balls of yellow energy into her palms.

Kirstin saw Lisa coming, and she clapped her hands and said, "_Erdemann!_" Lisa was two feet from her when a tendril of dirt and rock shot up out of the ground, ramming her in the gut and sending her flying back through the air. A second golem crawled its way out of the ground and stood at the ready, defending its master. The first golem was recovering from Sabine's assault, and she was preparing to strike once again when the golem aimed its arm up at her and fired a stream of dirt and rocks. She just barely managed to use Schnell to evade it, and when she came out behind the golem with balls of energy around her fists, a second stream shot out of the golem's back, knocking her through the air.

While the golems bore down on the Soldaten, both of whom were dizzy from being attacked, Kirstin clapped her hands together, and then bent down and placed both palms on the ground. "_Erdehunde!_" The ground in front of her bulged in two spots, and two dog-shaped beasts made entirely of earth shot out and trotted towards one of the two Soldaten. Sabine aimed her arms up and fired a beam of energy at the golem, which erupted into a second burst of light that completely concealed the golem. Meanwhile, the Erdehund jumped back and forth across the ground, and then leaped at Sabine while she was still on the ground. She tried to fight the hound off, but its sharp claws tore her flesh like blades as it slashed at her, spattering blood across the ground around them.

Sabine finally fired a beam of energy right into the hound's gut, sending it flying off of her and smashing into the ground. The hound struggled to get back to its feet, but at the same time the golem was standing right behind Sabine, who just barely managed to dive forward as it swung its arm down. Sabine hit the ground and rolled back to her feet, and she fired a beam of light at the golem, who took it head-on and was once again shrouded in light. Sabine then spun around and fired another beam at the hound, who was hit and shrouded in similar light. At the same time, Lisa flew back through the air, and the golem she was fighting took two steps forward, and then aimed its arm and fired a stream of dirt and rocks at her.

Lisa used Stehen to keep herself in the air, and she shot up over the stream, letting it fly through the air. She came out fifty feet in the air when a ball of compressed dirt shot up at her, nearly knocking her out of the air before she could fly out of the way. The second hound Kirstin had summoned stalked across the ground firing these balls of dirt up at her, but she managed to dodge all of them without taking a single hit. She then held out her hand in the air and concentrated a ball of white light into her palm. "_Sonnescheinen!_" She threw the ball down between the golem and the hound, and the tiny ball exploded into a burst of blinding light that caused both creatures to hunch over in an attempt to shield their eyes.

_Damn it!_ Kirstin thought to herself as she witnessed this. Lisa then took the opportunity to fly down at Kirstin, but Kirstin clapped her hands together, and a stream of dirt hit Lisa in the gut, knocking her out of the air and sending her plummeting down, crashing into the ground. Lisa glared up at Kirstin with a pained expression, and Kirstin took on a smile. "Normally I just let my pets do fight their own battles, but if need be I can take direct control of them, making an attempt at blinding them worthless," she explained. Several pieces of rubble flew through the air nearby, and Kirstin looked around to see Sabine wielding balls of energy, while the golem and hound she had been fighting were both severely cracked and falling apart.

Sabine threw a ball of energy at the golem, which exploded on impact and blasted it apart, and at the same time the hound closed in on her. Sabine saw the hound coming and fired a beam of energy at it, hitting the hound directly and blasting it apart as well. Kirstin watched this, and she looked over at her second pair. When she did this, the golem faced, Sabine, and the hound faced Lisa. The hound fired several balls of dirt at her, but she flew through the air to evade them, and then threw a ball of light down at the hound. The ball exploded into a blinding wave, concealing the hound from view and preventing him from moving or attacking.

Kirstin shielded her eyes from the light, and at the same time Sabine fired a beam of energy at the golem. The golem, who was too big and slow to move out of the way in time, put its arm up over its face to block the blast, which hit him and exploded into a dome of light. "Lisa! She's helpless! Finish her!" Sabine yelled.

Lisa wasted no time in throwing another ball of light down at Kirstin, who then took on a smile and said, "I'm helpless? Is that right?" She clapped her hands together, and the ground around her started rumbling, as if an earthquake had hit. Lisa stopped cold, and she and Sabine both looked at Kirstin with wide eyes. "_Groß Erdemann!_" A gigantic explosion of pure dust blasted seventy feet up into the air, and all of the Soldaten that were still alive looked over in shock. I, on the other hand, paid minimal attention to it as I glared at Anna, who seemed too scared to take her eyes off of me. The dust cleared, and a colossal golem was kneeling on the ground, looking down at its feet.

Sabine and Lisa both looked on in shock, but after a few stuttering attempts at speech, Sabine told Lisa to attack it with everything she had. The two of them concentrated their Kräfte into their hands, and Sabine shot at the golem, aiming for its face. The golem swung its massive arm outward, knocking Sabine through the air and sending her flying a hundred feet away. She eventually started to descend towards the ground, but Sebastian appeared behind her and allowed her to crash into him. He helped her keep her balance while she used Stehen to hover in the air, and she looked back at him and thanked him.

"Don't bother thanking me, I merely did what any one of us would have done," Sebastian responded. "Now, let's go back and fight that behemoth before it destroys this beautiful city," Sebastian said to her. Sabine nodded, and the two of them disappeared.

"_Sonnescheinen!_" Lisa threw a ball of light up at the golem's face, but the golem blocked it with its arm and was unaffected by the burst of light that came from it. The golem then aimed its arm down and fired a gigantic stream of dirt and rocks at Lisa, and she was just barely able to disappear in time, allowing the stream to hit the ground. All of the dirt and rocks rolled across the ground, overturning cars and busting out windows as it came and leaving a scene of destruction across a thousand square feet of Paris. Lisa came out right above the golem's head with light coming from both hands, but the golem swung its arm up, swatting her out of the air like a fly and sending her flying away.

She eventually came down and smashed into the ground, tearing a fifty foot line that tore right through a building. The dust from the destruction cleared, and Lisa lay on the ground, covered in blood and rubble, and her eyes were closed while she made no effort to move. Catarina looked up at the golem with terror, and the golem eventually turned its enormous head around and looked back down at her. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek, and as she took a step back, Catarina clapped her hands together and said, "_Blumenritter!_" The ground in front of her burst apart, and out crawled several tendrils of vines and flowers that wove themselves together into three masses.

Three human-like figures in both size and shape stood in front of Catarina, and they had bodies and limbs made of vines while large flowers made up their faces. Each of the Blumenritter looked up at the gigantic golem, and they all fired a volley of roughly twenty tiny needles up at it. All sixty of the needles hit the golem's head and bounced right off, and the golem raised its foot and brought it down, crushing all of the Blumenritter without effort. The shockwave of the stop knocked Lisa back through the air, and she landed on the ground on her side and looked back up at the golem, who bore over her. The golem raised its arm, when, "_Lichtpheil!_"

A volley of three yellow arrows shot through the air at the golem, hitting it square in the face and knocking its head back, distracting it while Sebastian appeared next to Lisa. He helped her up to her feet, and the two of them disappeared before the golem knew what was going on. Kirstin, who had been witnessing this the whole time, growled in anger. Sebastian and Lisa were both in the air with Sabine next to them, and Sebastian said, "Stay out of its range. Your Kräfte are no match for something so large and so powerful. Leave this to me, and you two find an opening to attack Kirstin while she's distracted with the battle."

"Got it," Sabine responded. She and Lisa both disappeared, and Sebastian aimed his bow at the golem while he conjured another energy arrow. The golem aimed its arm at him and fired a stream of earth, but Sebastian disappeared and came out right above the golem's head. Sebastian released his arrow, which hit the golem square on the top, but the golem was mostly unfazed as it stepped forward, and then spun around and swung its arm up at Sebastian. Sebastian disappeared, and he fired an arrow right into the back of the golem's shoulder joint, sending a set of cracks going up and down the golem's shoulder. A wide, gigantic stream of dirt fired out of the golem's back, and Sebastian had absolutely no time to react as he was hit head-on.

The stream drove him down and smashed him into the ground, and when the dust from the impact cleared, Sebastian lay among broken dirt and rubble with blood all over him. "_Langbein!_" An arm stretched through the air towards the golem, and the arm wrapped around the golem's neck, leaving it helpless. Gabriella, who was standing on a nearby building, pulled with all her strength, causing the golem to keel over and fall to the ground. The golem crashed, crushing a dozen buildings and raising a massive dust cloud over the city that could be seen for miles. Gabriella's arm retracted out of the dust cloud back to its original length, and she dropped to one knee, panting in exhaustion as she held her arm, which had become bruised and bloody.

_Hopefully that'll keep it down for a couple minutes while the rest of us recover,_ Gabriella thought to herself. But as soon as she thought this, the a massive collection of dirt and rock rose out of the dust, and the golem planted its arm on the ground and used it to support itself while it rose back up, and at its full height the golem rose well over a hundred feet into the air, dwarfing everything around it.

"_Nordenkalt!_" A wave of cold air hit the giant from behind, forming ice across its surface from the top of its head down to its chest. Wilhelm hovered in the air fifty feet behind the golem, and he was panting in exhaustion as he held both arms out in the direction he had fired. "Jacob, finish him!" Wilhelm said through gasps. Jacob appeared on the ground right in front of the giant, and he was cracking his knuckles with a grin on his face, and he said, "Not a problem. This thing is about to go down, and I'll make sure it doesn't get back up." He aimed both arms at the golem's midsection, and he said,

"_Südenheiß!_" A wave of scorching hot air blasted out of Jacob's palms, and the giant burst into flames as smoke rose into the air, and the ice covering the monster's face started to melt. Jacob ceased the Südenheiß, and he immediately dropped to his knees, panting in a similar manner to his brother, but he had a grin on his face nonetheless. As the golem became fully enveloped in flames, it dropped to its knees, and eventually swayed over and crashed into the ground. Kirstin, who viewed this with an expressionless look, suddenly smiled and said,

"And you think fire can take down rock?" The flames suddenly cleared, and the giant rose back up, almost completely unharmed except for a few black spots across its body. Gabriella, Jacob, and Wilhelm all looked up at it in horror, and the giant flexed its arms out and unleashed multiple torrents of dirt and rock. The torrents rained down on top of the three Soldaten and ravaged even more of the city, causing buildings to collapse and cars to become smashed. I clashed a _Chidori_ with Anna's Lilaschwert, and as she struggled to keep me at bay, I looked over at the havoc that was being wreaked several hundred feet away, sending smoke and dust billowing into the air over the city.

"Your friends certainly are doing a number on this place," I said to Anna without looking at her.

Her eyes narrowed as her teeth gritted in anger, and she said, "Yeah, that's what the Blitzleute are designed to do. We could never truly wage war on the shinobi without being able to put up a competent fight." I then trained my eyes on her, and kicked her down into a building, blasting dust out of it while I hovered in the air on my _Flight Jutsu_ and glared down at her.

"I guess you don't get it, huh?" I said to her. "You really think this ragtag bunch of bandits can take on a force so vast and so powerful as the shinobi? Get real, you people couldn't even put a dent into our population. I get that maybe you could take on a squad by yourselves, but to think that you could honestly wage war on all of us is absolutely absurd. I'm gonna kill you here and now, and then I'll head to Munich and do the same to your leader. Maybe that way you'll see how hopeless your little goals are."

Daniel's eyes narrowed as he heard my speech, and he chanced a look over at the golem, which dwarfed the buildings around it as it swung its arm down, raising a gigantic cloud of dust laced with rubble. Daniel looked back at me, but he made no effort to move or attack as I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired the intense jet of flames down into the dust that Anna was concealed in, and the entire building was blown apart in fiery rage, sending tendrils of flame and smoke shooting through the air. The rubble of the building crashed to the ground, raising dust into the air, and I hovered over the destruction, looking down into the cloud and waiting for Anna to emerge.

The dust finally cleared, and Anna was laying among the rubble of the building, and she had blood all over her. In spite of this, she still glared up at me through half-opened eyes, but I made no comment or reaction. A rumbling made me look around, and the giant golem had trained its eyeless face on me, and started making its way over. I flashed a small smile and shot towards the golem with lightning trailing from my hand. The golem swung its arm up at me, but I evaded it, flying around the golem and coming at its head from the side with my _Chidori_ raised. The golem saw me coming, and it dissociated into a stream of dirt and rock that flew straight up into the air, leaving me to look up after it. I cancelled the _Chidori_ and made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired fifteen human-sized fireballs up at the stream as it flew overhead, and while the fireballs hit, they didn't appear to do anything. The stream came back down and collected on the ground, and the golem reformed with its arm pointed at me, and it fired a stream of dirt and rock at me. I super-sped out of the way, allowing the stream to crush a building that had been behind me, and I reappeared right in front of the golem and fired a _Fireball_ directly into its face. The strength that my Curse Mark added to my _Fireball_ knocked the golem off its feet, sending it plummeting down to the ground over about six buildings.

I saw this happen, and I shot down and landed on one of the rooftops that was about to be crushed. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired out my _Dragon_ _Flame_ right up into the golem, knocking it back and sending it stumbling back into an area that had already been leveled of buildings. I then formed a _Rasengan_ in my palm and shot at the golem, who fired a stream down at me that I easily evaded. I closed in and hit the golem directly in the face, blasting half his head off and knocking him through the air, and he eventually plummeted down to the ground. The golem crashed, and I hovered over it with a small, triumphant grin on my face as I looked down at it.

Kirstin looked up at me in horror, like she didn't know what to do, but I barely paid her any mind. That was when my eyes widened in shock, and my Curse Mark glowed fiery orange. The marks then receded back into my neck to the original mark, and I doubled over, panting in exhaustion. _Jesus,_ I thought to myself. _I gotta learn to get a handle on that thing, otherwise I'm gonna kill myself one of these days._ That was when my eyes widened as Anna came in from behind me with her sword raised, and I looked back at her, in too much pain to do anything about her. A wall of water burst forth between us, knocking Anna back while I was left unharmed. The water attacked Anna, driving her back through the air and enveloping her in an inescapable sphere.

"_Ertrinken!_" Benjamin hovered in the air thirty feet away, and he had both arms, palms out, pointed at Anna. Anna was trapped in the sphere, with no way to breathe and no way out. She tried to build up energy into her sword, but the thickness of the water made that impossible. I watched at this brutality, and I was almost tempted to help her when I realized that if I did she would probably kill me for it. Benjamin then brought his arms down, sending the sphere, and Anna along with it, flying down and smashing into the ground, sending water splashing all over the place.

Anna lay sprawled across the ground, and her eyes were half-open and devoid of life. "Thanks," I called over to Benjamin, still panting in exhaustion. He nodded to me, but made no comment. Kirstin saw what was happening, and she turned around and snuck into an alley that had been behind her. Before she made it ten feet, Helene appeared in her path, still covered in blood, and she punched Kirstin with all her strength, sending her flying back and smashing through three buildings. Helene limped out of the alley and looked around, taking in all of the destruction.

About half a mile of the city had been completely destroyed, with plumes of smoke and flames rising over what was left. Buildings had their windows busted out, and large portions of them had been blasted out in the battle. The few people that had remained in the area had been caught in the dust clouds and chaos, and some of them had blood on them while others had their clothes ripped. I began to wonder how many of them no longer had homes.

As I looked at the crowds gathering in the alleys coming out onto the battlefield, I spotted a little girl who couldn't have been more than four. She was holding her mother's hand and looking around at the devastation. Her eyes then locked onto something, and I looked at where she was looking and found a pink stuffed animal laying on the ground with a large rock on top of it. The little girl escaped from her mother's grasp and ran out into the street, not even bothering to look for passing cars (even though there probably wouldn't be any), and she came to the stuffed animal. She bent down and struggled to get the rock off the animal, but when she finally managed to roll it out of the way, she gasped.

The stuffed animal had been torn completely in half, with stuffing coming out of both ends. Tears started forming in the little girl's eyes, and my jaw opened slightly as she picked up the animal and held it in her hands. She then wiped her eyes with her arm and looked down at the creature, looking like she was about to start bawling. That was when the mother caught up to her, and she picked the girl up and hugged her tightly, then walked off with her as the girl started sobbing uncontrollably. Daniel appeared behind me and patted me on the shoulder, and I looked back at him with remorse in my eyes.

"You did good work today," he told me.

"We need to end this," I said to him. "Before this happens again, we need to end this as quickly as possible, I don't care what we have to do." "I know," he said to me.

"I've done some research into your background; I know that you're not used to seeing this scale of destruction. It takes its toll on everybody. Even I can't look around at this and not want to find Johann as soon as I can. But I want you to understand that the Blitzleute aren't like anyone you've ever faced. Even more than Hatsuji, than Orochimaru, than the Decepticons, the Blitzleute have the means to wreak wide-scale havoc on the world, and they're not afraid to do it either. We _will_ find them and we _will_ take them down _before_ they are able to do this anywhere else. But Matt, listen, I know you're not gonna wanna hear this, but before we move onto Switzerland and take on the Blitzleute forces there, we're going to take a respite here in Paris so that we can recover."

My eyes widened as he said this, and I looked back at him in anger and said, "What!?"

"I know you want to fight the Blitzleute, but right now our forces are in shambles. We need to recover before we continue fighting; otherwise we'll be wiped out." He then looked down towards the ground, and I followed his gaze to Helene, who was panting heavily as she held her arm tenderly. I noted all of her injuries, and I then looked around at all of the other Soldaten gradually converging in the center of the battlefield. I took in all of their injuries as well, and while I didn't like it, I had to admit that Daniel was right. Finally, I agreed to stay in Paris so that we could recover, and we all got as far away from the battlefield as we could before local police could identify us as the same people that Kurt had implicated in London.

We found a tiny hotel basically hidden in the middle of the city. It was nothing special, and it blended in with its surroundings. Daniel conversed with the receptionist in French, and he came back to us with keys to five rooms. We dispersed into different rooms, and we all bunked with our battle partners. I was with Daniel and Eva, and she headed into the bathroom while Daniel and I sprawled out on our beds.

"How are we doing?" I asked.

"For the most part we're pretty good," he answered.

"All of the Soldaten have suffered some minor injuries, but they'll be alright. The only one I'm worried about is Helene. She was hit by three of Fritz's exploding clones, so she's pretty bad. She's sleeping right now, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to know how bad her injuries are. We're gonna spend tomorrow resting up and healing our injuries. Be honest with yourself, you need it too, just as badly as any of us." I couldn't tell him he was wrong. The only time I had been physically harmed throughout the entire battle was when Fritz's clone had blown me up, but I was able to quickly heal myself from that.

The Curse Mark, on the other hand, had done its toll. Every bone in my body was in agony, as if they were being crushed by rocks. I still had trouble catching my breath, and I sometimes had fits of dizziness that took me a moment to shake. That was the second time I had used the Curse Mark, and it was far longer than the first time. I knew I needed to build my body up to be able to use the Curse Mark fluently, without suffering its drastic side effects. That was when Eva opened the door, and I felt a knot form in my throat.

She was wearing a dress with a bunch of different designs on it, along with white capris. She had her hair curled around her head, and her makeup was done so lightly that it was barely noticeable, but it had amazing effects. _So this is what a girl is,_ I thought to myself as my face burned hot. Daniel barely paid this any mind, and I had to remind myself that he spent most of his time with her, so this was nothing new to him. "How you holding up?" he asked her.

"Oh, I'm fine," she said with a smile. "I just feel so sorry for all the people who lost their homes," she said with a hint of sadness. "I with my brother would see that what he's doing is wrong, and that people are suffering because of his actions. If I could see him, maybe I could convince him to stop. Of course I've tried that in the past, and it didn't work out so well."

She seemed lost in thought, and I found myself wanting to say something that might help cheer her up. What I didn't notice was that while I was looking at Eva, Daniel was looking at me. He then got up to a sitting position and said,

"Matt, you probably don't wanna stay here. Eva, why don't you take him on the boat tour down at the Seine river?"

"Boat tour?" I repeated.

"Oh, okay!" Eva said excitedly. "Let's go!" she said to me.

"Uhm, uh," I said. As she walked out the door, I looked at Daniel, silently questioning why he didn't go on the boat tour with her.

Daniel then stood up and walked over to me, and he patted me on both shoulders and said with a grin, "Buddy…I'm twenty-seven."

One bus rise later found Eva and me down at the bank of the Seine, waiting in line. We were among roughly sixty people waiting, and after about ten minutes a boat pulled up. And when I say a boat, I mean a five-ton behemoth that rose twenty feet in the air, and was all white. It had a lower level enclosed in glass so that one could see out in all directions, and it also had another level up top so that people could sit out in the nice, cool breeze. Eva and I went up top and sat in the seats that were situated outlining the boat in pairs. The boat quickly filled up, and after about fifteen minutes, we took off. The city at night, with all of its lights and life, was unlike anything I had ever seen. The pure beauty of this city, in spite of the fact that a part of it had been destroyed less than five hours previously, trumped anything else I had ever seen or imagined.

The Eiffel Tower was in full view over everything else, and it glowed from top to bottom in magnificent yellow light. I looked at Eva, who was sitting next to me, looking forward with a small smile on her face. The breeze was blowing her hair behind her, making her look even more beautiful than she already did. As I was looking at her, I took on a smile myself, but a collective gasp echoed across the boat. I looked around in horror, wondering what was happening now, but then I saw the Eiffel Tower.

The entire tower was sparkling with thousands of white lights, as if Christmas had come early. I watched in pure awe at this, and Eva looked at it with a satisfied smile. We both sat there and watched without saying a word, and I suddenly got the temptation to put my arm around her. I then came to the realization that she would probably punch me off the boat if I did, so I refrained. The next day, The Soldaten were getting dressed and ready to go. Daniel told me that Helene wasn't ready to be out and about, and the brothers Grimm were both exhausted from having used so much power against the giant earth golem yesterday.

All three were on bed rest, leaving us with little options. "Benjamin, Gabriella, Lisa and Sabine will stay here and watch over them," Daniel explained to me. "If anymore Blitzleute show up, which they shouldn't, the four of them will be more than enough to fend them off. Meanwhile, Sebastian, Catarina, Eva and I will escort you on a tour around Paris so that you're not sitting here, bored all day." I was okay with this. The five of us set out, and instead of taking transportation, we decided to walk so that we could see more, plus it would build up our energy.

"Well, you've already seen the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Arc," Daniel said to me. "The only thing left that you really can't come to Paris without seeing is the Sacré-Coeur Church."

"The wha?" I said, wondering if my ears were working.

"The Sacred Heart Church," he clarified. "It's at the highest point in Paris, and it is unlike anything you have ever seen. Let's go."

We walked across the city, and I took in every little detail that my brain could process while Eva and the Soldaten walked by without second glances. After about three hours, we came to a small city square in the shadow of a hill with gates lining a pathway up to a very large, elaborate building that had three steeples sticking straight up into the air. The five of us traversed the pathway up to the Sacred Heart, and when we got to the top, what I saw made my jaw drop. I was currently looking at a panoramic view of the entire city of Paris, bathed in sunlight and looking absolutely divine. The buildings in the foreground were roughly five stories tall, but the buildings in the background were much, much taller.

To the right was a dark-gray building that was several hundred feet tall, and with the Eiffel Tower apparently situated behind the church, this was by far the tallest structure in sight. We spent about forty-five minutes up here, but I honestly could have spent three days, and still not have been able to take in the sheer breathtaking beauty of this scene. Eventually, Daniel came up behind me and said, "You wanna see Versailles?"

I scoffed and said, "Are you serious?"

He seemed satisfied with my response, and with that we took a bus to about five miles southwest of Paris, coming into a significantly smaller town. We came to a magnificent palace with bright colors and laced with gold. Inside we took a tour of the monarch's home, which showed the life of the king or queen of France back in the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. In back was a sprawling garden with rows of bushes and flowers, as well as various types of trees. Towards the center was a gigantic fountain that had three layers, each with statues of animals and people lining them, looking in at a central figure that I couldn't identify. The palace overall was gorgeous, and I couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like to live in a place like this.

As we explored the Garden of Versailles, Sebastian, who stood nearby, said, "What a beautiful little town; it reminds me of little babies basked in gold! I just want to burst into song!"

"Du bist sehr schwul," Catarina commented.

"Nein," Sebastian contradicted, "ich bin sehr schön. Du bist eine hässliche Kuh."

"What did you say to me!?" Catarina said in an eruption of anger. Sebastian chuckled and said, "If you can't understand what others are saying back to you, then you shouldn't try and converse in a different language."

Catarina growled in rage, and I was sure she was about to lunge at Sebastian when Daniel intervened, saying, "Alright, alright, break it up, you two. We're fighting the Blitzleute, not each other."

We eventually took the bus back to the hotel, and we came back to Helene, Jacob and Wilhelm on their feet and ready to head to Switzerland. The Soldatens ship flew over a scene of endless green, as mountains rose up in all directions. As I looked out the window and took in the view, I had to admit that this was the most breathtaking part of Europe I had seen to this point, as well as the most jaw-dropping scene I had seen anywhere in the world. The ship touched down in a tiny outskirt of Lucerne that was set into the mountains and perfectly secluded from civilization. We trekked across Lucerne, which proved to be much smaller than either London or Paris, but lining the streets were gorgeous buildings that had ornate drawings and decorations on their faces, adding to their splendor.

In the center of the city was a small lake populated with swans and ducklings, and a wooden, covered bridge ran from one side to the other, making travel between each division much less time-consuming. While exploring the city, we found a force of four Blitzleute, but they appeared to be the weakest of the Blitzleute forces. The eleven of us proved more than enough to take kill all four of them without effort, although the battle had still managed to raise awareness to our presence to the citizens of the city. To this end, we had to split up and keep in hiding.

I wanted to explore the city with Eva, but she insisted that we head back to the outskirt where we left the ship. She tagged along with Daniel while he and the other Soldaten used Schnell, and I super-sped back to where we started. We found a hotel there that was apparently secluded from news broadcasts, as the hotel manager had no idea that we were wanted fugitives in the continent of Europe. We hung out in the lobby most of the night, and while Daniel and the other Soldaten were busy getting wasted in the cafeteria, Eva and I sat in a small room lined with a couch cushion and dotted with tables. We talked for about two hours before we finally went upstairs and went to bed, and it was another ninety minutes before the hammered Soldaten joined us.

The next day, we spent our time touring Lucerne and all of its beauty, even scaling some of the smaller mountains that stood outside the town. For ninety-five dollars you could go up Mount Pilatus, but since none of us had the money, we had no choice but to pass.

We eventually took a bus on to Liechtenstein, where Daniel reported intel of a single Blitzleute member.

"That's kinda disappointing," I responded.

"You mean more or less disappointing than those rejects we fought back in Lucerne?" he asked. "I don't expect this'll take very long, but we still need to stop there, otherwise the guy there could prove to be a threat to us later."

"Wait," Benjamin spoke up.

"What's up?" Daniel asked.

"What's the point of all of us going to take out one person?" he asked. "Wouldn't it make more sense to just send a small battalion there so that the rest of us can move on to Munich?"

This made absolute perfect sense to me, although I was unable to put aside the fact that I wanted to see Vaduz, Liechtenstein's capital. I conveyed this to Daniel, who decided that I would command Benjamin, Gabriella, and Helene in an effort to take down the Blitzleute member in Liechtenstein. Benjamin was less than thrilled about this, and while Helene remained silent, I could tell she wasn't pleased about it either. If Gabriella had any discontent with this, she didn't show it, but she didn't seem happy about it either.

The four of us went over to the bus driver, and Benjamin said, "Können wir hier halten, bitte?"

"Was?" the bus driver asked, looking at Benjamin with a confused look.

"Mein Opa wohnt hier, und wir wünschen zu ihn besuchen," Benjamin explained.

The bus driver still looked confused by this, but he shook his head and pulled over, opening the door and let us off.

Before we exited, Eva walked over to me, kissed me on the cheek, and said, "Good luck." She smiled at me, and then turned around and went back to her seat. I turned back around, wondering how to proceed with the rest of my life, and I barely even noticed Gabriella glaring at me as I walked off the bus.

The bus doors closed, and the four of us watched as it grew smaller and smaller. "So I have a question," I said to Benjamin.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Why didn't we take the ship?"

"It ran out of gas," he answered simply.

"Gotcha," I responded.

When the bus was gone, I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ while the Soldaten activated Stehen, and the four of us flew off towards Liechtenstein. When we got there three hours later, we came upon a tiny town with small buildings, and looking over it was a small mountain with a large, white castle set into it.

"Alright, you ready?" I asked them.

"Yeah, Benjamin responded. Helene and Gabriella both nodded.

"It's about time you showed up." We all looked around to see a man sitting on the roof of a building, leaning against a chimney, feet on the side. He was a very large man, and he was wearing a dark-gray shirt with black sweats and trench coat. He had light-brown hair down to his back, and he was looking at us with a hungry smile.

"That didn't take long," I said. The Blitzleute stood up, and he jumped down and landed on the ground.

"I am Erich Gustaf, and outside the Munich forces, I am the strongest of the Blitzleute," he introduced.

"Awesome," I responded. "Does that mean you're gonna put up more of a fight than Anna and those Lucerne dropouts?" I asked.

"Those excuses for Soldaten were not let in for their battle prowess, believe you me," Erich said with his same hungry smile. "The only reason Lord Johann let them into the group, in spite of all my warnings that it was a mistake, was because they shared the same goal as he did. He knew all too well that they would provide very little for the Blitzleute overall, but his Liege was willing to let them join anyway. He needed all the people he could get to wage war against the shinobi, and they had power and a thirst for vengeance, which was exactly what he was looking for. I, on the other hand, am here because I was a respected general of the Soldaten military. That was, of course, before your kind wiped us all out," he added.

"Wait, you guys had an organized military?" I asked.

"Yeah," Benjamin answered. "The Soldaten lived in their own country, which was located on several islands in the North Sea. For the most part we kept to ourselves, but we were eventually discovered by the shinobi. I guess they saw us as a threat, because without a moment of hesitation or negotiation they sent a full battle force to wipe us all out. We didn't even have a chance to defend ourselves." I knew that Benjamin was tearing apart right now, but I couldn't say anything right now as Erich was preparing himself for battle.

"Now then, shinobi boy," he said to me. "Are you ready to die?"

"Gimme everything you got," I said to him with a smile. Erich braced himself and shot at me, and Benjamin took his right flank while Helene and Gabriella took his left. Erich barely paid this any mind, and I jumped back before he could strike me, flying backwards through the air. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my _Fireball_ down at him, and he was caught head-on and enveloped in flames. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and hung in the air, looking at the ground burning beneath me, and my eyes widened as Erich was right behind me, and he elbowed me in the top of the head.

I went flying down and smashing into the ground, and Benjamin aimed his arms up at him and said, "_Wasserwaschen!_" He fired his water torrent up at Erich, but Erich aimed his arm at it and said, "_Schicken!_" The water was blown away by absolutely nothing, and Benjamin watched with wide eyes as his water splashed to the ground in front of him, and Erich hung in the air overhead, looking down at him with a grin.

"_Langarm!_" Gabriella's arm stretched up into the air and started wrapping around Erich's neck, but he grabbed it and wrenched Gabriella up towards him while he held his fist out. Gabriella was helpless as he pounded her with all his strength, sending her flying down and smashing into the ground. A shadow loomed over Erich, and he looked up to see Helene coming down at him with her fist raised.

"_Tollen Körperteile!_" She rammed her fist into Erich's arm held out in defense, and her strength blasted him down towards the ground.

"Nice strength!" Erich said with a smile as he looked up at her. Helene closed in on him while he dropped, and she somersaulted through the air, kicking him in the chest and smashing him into the ground, raising dust into the air and sending rubble flying. The dust around Gabriella and I cleared, and we were both looking into the dust that concealed Erich, waiting to see what had happened to him. Benjamin, who was hovering in the air, was also waiting, and he had his arms held out halfway to his sides in preparation. The dust around Erich cleared, and he had his arm held up towards Benjamin, whose eyes widened.

"_Bringen!_" Benjamin suddenly flew in towards Erich, and it was clear that this was by no feat of his own. Erich grabbed Benjamin by the shirt, and he held him out in front of him. "_Schicken!_" Benjamin was sent flying through a building, blasting out dust and sending a portion of the roof caving in. Benjamin, who had been sent flying out the opposite side of the building, was in a complete daze as he lay amongst the rubble that had flown out with him. Erich appeared nearby and walked over to Benjamin, who looked up at him through dazed eyes. Erich loomed over him menacingly, but a fiery glow illuminated the scene, causing both of them to look around.

A volley of _Dragon Darts _was coming in at Erich from the left, and Helene appeared next to Benjamin and got him out of the way. An explosion of smoke and flames rose into the air when the _Dragon Darts_ converged on Erich, completely concealing him while I stood thirty feet away. Helene and Benjamin were both on a rooftop, looking down as well while Gabriella appeared near me. My body shuttered, and my eyes widened as I flew in towards the smoke, and Erich's hand reached out and grabbed me, holding me in the air. The smoke cleared, and Erich looked at me with a grin, while I struggled in vain against his grip.

Erich then swung me around through the air, smashing me into the ground and then using his Kraft to hit me with all of his power, blasting the ground apart under me. I spat out blood as the sensation that every bone in my body was broken coursed through me, and Erich then swung me around again, throwing me into a building. A part of the building had collapsed down on top of me, and I was trapped in the rubble and in too much pain to move or fight. Erich reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, silver knife that he held in his hand with the blade pointed at me. I looked at the blade, and my teeth gritted as I tried to get up.

Erich looked past the knife at me, and he said, "Goodbye, shinobi." He used his Schicken and sent the blade flying at me with increased velocity, and I watched it come with wide eyes. Blood spattered through the air, and my eyes were wide in shock, while Gabriella and Helene both looked on with similar expressions. Benjamin hung in the air with Erich's knife in his gut, and he dropped to the ground and grasped the hilt with both hands, gasping in pain. "_Benjamin!_" Helene screamed. She ran over and slid on her knees next to him, and Gabriella appeared nearby, examining his wound. I fought my way out of the rubble and landed on my hands and knees, but after a moment I got up and ran over, bending down next to Benjamin as well.

My teeth then gritted and my eyes narrowed in anger, and I shot at Erich with a _Chidori_ raised. Erich watched me come with a grin, and he aimed his palm at me as I closed in. I disappeared in a burst of speed, causing Erich's eyes to widen in shock as he looked behind him to see me there with my jutsu raised. Erich aimed his palm back and fired his Schicken at me,and while I put my _Chidori_ out to defend against the brunt of it, I was still sent flying back through the air. I cancelled my jutsu and made some hand signs, and I fired two consecutive _Fireballs_ out at Erich. He watched them come with a grin as he aimed his palm at them, but Gabriella's stretched out fist hit him in the back, knocking him forward and leaving him wide open for the fireballs to crash into him.

Gabriella then looked down at Benjamin, who had blood running out of his mouth as he looked up at them through half-opened eyes. "Hold on, Benjamin, you'll be okay," Helene said, tears streaming down her face.

Benjamin shifted his gaze to her, and he said, in barely more than a whisper, "Helene, thank you…for everything."

Helene gasped in horror, and he said, "No, don't say that! You're gonna make it through this! You're gonna live, I'll make sure of it!" But deep in her heart, she knew that he had already lost too much blood.

"Helene, listen to me," Benjamin said, and he then coughed up blood.

I swung a _Chidori_ through the air several times at Erich, who backed out of the way of them each time with his same grin on his face, and he then aimed his palm at me, prompting me to super-speed out of the way. Erich spun around and threw his arm out, but a burst of electricity shot through the air, and I landed on the ground, squatted down, with a trail of lighting shooting straight up into the air. Erich's severed arm flew through the air and hit the ground, and he looked on with wide eyes as I straightened up and glared at him, my _Chidori_ turning into a _Rasengan_.

"These people, the Blitzleute," Benjamin continued. "They are the worst kind of people imagineable. Don't let them wage their war, otherwise the entire world will suffer." By this point, it was clear that he was fading out, and Helene gasped in desperation, helpless for a solution. Gabriella had tears forming in her eyes as well, but she quickly wiped her eyes. "Just...don't let…that shinobi have…the last laugh," Benjamin said with a soft laugh. "And don't…let…Johann…win." With this he fell silent, and Helene burst into uncontrollable sobs.

Blood spattered through the air, and I stood panting in anger while Erich's broken corpse dropped to the ground, pooling blood under it, and I looked forward with an angry glare.

An immense castle made entirely of black stone stood situated on a mountain in Germany, and craters and rubble had been blasted out of the structure. Henrik stood on a balcony, and below him Sebastian was kneeling on the ground with blood all over him, while the brothers Grimm lay amongst the broken rubble. The final Blitzleute member, Hans Petrus, stood over Catarina, who lay on the ground with her eyes closed, while Sabine lay nearby.

Blood dripped to the ground from a hand, and Johann watched with a smile as Daniel stood there, hunched over and with blood all over him. "Johann," he said as he panted in exhaustion. "It's time this was brought to an end."

"And I will be more than happy to bring that end, Daniel," Johann commented. Eva stood in the corner, watching the scene with eyes and jaw wide in horror.

Meanwhile, Sebastian conjured his bow and aimed his at Henrik, who didn't even flinch as he aimed his palm at him and said, "_Lichttöten!_" He fired a beam of bright, blue energy at Sebastian, but he disappeared as it crashed into the ground, blasting up dust and rubble and gouging out a crater. Sebastian appeared in the air behind Henrik with his bow raised, but Henrik spun around and aimed his palm up at Sebastian, and Henrik fired a Lichttöten at the same time that Sebastian fired an arrow. The Lichttöten extinguished the arrow without losing an iota of its power, and Sebastian disappeared once again, allowing the blast to hit the ceiling and send rubble crashing down.

Sebasitan appeared twenty feet behind Henrik, who turned around casually to look at him. Sebastian, who was covered in blood and panting in exhaustion, glared angrily at Henrik, who looked back at him with a casual grin, not having a scratch on him. Sebastian aimed his bow at him and conjured another arrow, but Henrik quickly fired another Lichttöten at him. Sebastian disappeared, and he came out directly above Henrik with his bow aimed down at him. Henrik disappeared just as the arrow hit the ground where he had been standing, and he came out directly in front of Sebastian with his hand up to his forearm covered in bright-blue energy.

"_Handschuh!_" Henrik rammed his fist into Sebastian, sending him flying down and smashing straight through the floor of the castle, coming out and dropping down to the floor below. Sebastian was now unconscious, laying on the floor with blood coming out of his mouth. Henrik hovered in the air and looked down through the hole in the floor at Sebastian with a smile on his face. Henrik's eyes then widened, and the top corner of the room was blasted apart in an explosion, sending dust and rubble dropping to the ground. Helene shot out of the dust at Henrik with her fist raised, and he held his arm out as she came at him.

"_Tollen Körperteile!_" Her fist became packed with energy as she closed in on Henrik, but Henrik aimed his palm under his defensive arm and fired a Lichttöten out at her. Helene disappeared, and she came out right behind Henrik with her fist raised, aimed at the back of his head. Henrik shot forward just before she could hit him, and he spun around through the air and fired another Lichttöten at her. Helene flew over the Lichttöten, and she shot at Henrik, somersaulting through the air and swinging her foot at his face. Henrik once again held his arm out in defense, and she plowed the sole of her foot into it, knocking Henrik down and causing him to smash into the ground, raising dust into the air. Helene dropped down and landed on the ground, and she looked at the dust cloud with puffy, swollen eyes.

Meanwhile, Hans flew back through the air, and he held his hand out to near his opposite shoulder and said, "_Feuerregen!_" He swung his arm through the air, firing a volley of tiny bursts of fire down towards the ground from his palm. Gabriella braced herself, and she jumped up into the air to avoid them, allowing the Feuerregen to ignite a sea of flames across the floor of the castle. While in the air, Gabriella fired her arm at Hans, who aimed his palm at it and fired a volley of fire bursts, similar in manner to a machine gun. The fire collided into Gabriella's arm, enveloping it in smoke as Gabriella screamed in pain, and her arm was forced back through the air before dropping down and crashing into the ground.

There were burn marks all over Gabriella's flesh, and she retracted her arm back to its original length, panting in pain and glaring at Hans. Hans looked down at her with a malicious smile, and he aimed both palms down at her and fired an enormous burst of flames that came at her far too quickly to evade. The fire ravaged the ground around her, raising smoke and dust and gouging out a crater into the ground. Gabriella appeared in the air right behind Hans, and she aimed her sole down at him and fired her leg, hitting him in the back and knocking him to the ground. Gabriella quickly retracted her leg and fired her uninjured fist at him, hitting him and pounding him into the ground, causing him to cough up blood.

Gabriella retracted her fist and backed off through the air, but Hans appeared right in front of her with flames trailing from his hands. Gabriella's eyes widened in horror, and Hans raised his arm, then brought it down on top of her, blasting her with flames and sending her smashing into the ground. Hans then aimed both palms down at her and concentrated flames into them, and as he looked down at her with another malicious grin, he said, "_Feuerfluss!_" He fired a stream of flames down at Gabriella, who was still too dazed to block or evade them.

A beam of yellow energy came in from the side and intercepted the Feuerfluss, and the Sternlicht exploded into a dome of bright light, extinguishing the flames and leaving Gabriella unharmed. Sabine and Lisa both stumbled forward, barely conscious from their injuries, and they both had blood all over them as they glared up at Hans through unopened eyes. Lisa summoned a ball of light into her hand, and she threw the Sonnescheinen up at Hans, who backed out of the way. The ball followed him through the air, and before he realized what was going on, the ball hit him and exploded into a sphere of pure light, causing Hans to groan in pain as she shielded his eyes.

Lisa aimed her palm up at the light and said, "_Sonneheiß!_" The sphere of light erupted into a cloud of pure fire, illuminating the entire room with light, and Lisa and Sabine both looked up at the flames with grins on their faces. That was when Hans appeared on the ground twenty feet behind him, doubled over and with a few minor burns on him, and he aimed his palm out at Lisa and fired a volley of flames at her. Lisa disappeared using Schnell, and Sabine spun around and fired a Sternlicht at Hans, who disappeared as it hit the ground and sent a wave of light across the room. Hans reappeared in a corner that was concealed in shadows, and he aimed his palm down at Sabine, who hadn't spotted him yet.

She then found him with the effect of Sehen, and she looked around at him just as he fired a Feuerregen down at her. Sabine jumped back through the air, allowing the fire to tear the ground apart where she had been, and she aimed both fists up and fired a Sternlicht at him. Hans shot out of the way, allowing the Sternlicht to blast out a portion of the ceiling and send it plummeting down to the ground, and as Hans flew downward at an angle, he aimed his palm out and fired a volley of flames out at Sabine. Sabine disappeared, allowing the flames to tear the ground apart in a line going back to the opposite wall, and she reappeared right above and behind Hans. Hans looked back at her, but she kicked him in the scruff of the neck, sending him flying down and smashing into the ground, and she said, "Lisa, hit him!"

Lisa, who was standing on the ceiling with the effect of Stehen, threw a ball of light down at Hans, and when it exploded and shrouded him, she aimed her palm at him and caused the light to erupt into flames. Sabine fired a Sternlicht to add to the flames, which then erupted into a massive explosion that sent tendrils of smoke and fire shooting through the air. Lisa and Sabine watched, and the light that was thrown across the room aroused Gabriella, causing her to raise her head and look at the explosion. After a moment, Hans flew backwards out of the flames, and he had severe burns all over him while his clothes were in tatters.

He conjured flames around his hands, but Gabriella's hand wrapped around his ankle, and she swung him around through the air, throwing him into a wall on the other side of the room. She retracted her arm and fired her opposite fist at him, hitting him directly and blasting out the wall, sending Hans dropping into the next room. Gabriella rose unsteadily to her feet, and she looked in the direction she had thrown Hans, panting in pain. "Come on," and Sabine said to Gabriella. She and Lisa ran past her towards Hans, and Gabriella limped after them, cradling her injured arm. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_"

I fired the volley of fireballs out at Johann, but he aimed his palm up at them and said, "_Schwarztod!_" He fired several tendrils of black, smoke-like energy up at the fireballs, which were all extinguished while the Schwarztod closed in on me from all directions. I shot straight down towards the ground, allowing all of the tendrils to crash into each other, and I came down and landed on the ground near Daniel.

"I don't sense Benjamin; is he alright?" Daniel asked. I didn't look at him nor respond because even thinking about it caused a ball of pain to well up in my stomach. But apparently my unresponsiveness was enough, because Daniel said, "Okay. I'm sorry. I know it wasn't your fault."

"He died saving me," I told him.

Daniel looked at me, and after a moment he said, "If that's the case, then it was because he believed in you. He knew that you're the key to stopping Johann and the Blitzleute, and we need your strength right now. Don't let his sacrifice be in vain. Use all of your pain and your resentment, and crush Johann right now. I'll help you."

That was when I looked back at him, and I then took on a grin and said, "So you're finally gonna step up, huh?"

Daniel scoffed and said, "Yeah. I guess it's about time, eh? You go in first, and I'll back you up," he said to me.

He held out both palms towards Johann, whose eyes widened at this, and my grin widened as I said, "Got it." I looked back at Johann, and I shot up into the air and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu down at him, and I watched it as it closed in on Johann, who braced himself for its arrival.

"_Verbessern!_" The fireball suddenly turned into an enormous ball of explosive flames that was fifty feet in diameter, and my eyes widened in shock as the gigantic fireball came down on top of Johann.

The entire castle shuddered violently, and Helene's eyes narrowed, and while she didn't take her eyes off of Henrik, she said, "Looks like Daniel and the kid are having fun." Henrik didn't respond as he looked down at her with a grin, but his grin faded the tiniest bit.

Helene shot up at him with her fist raised, but he held both fists out and said, "_Handschuhe!_" Both fists became engulfed in bright, blue energy, and he swung them in at Helene as she closed in on him, but she disappeared just in time, and rammed her fist into the top of Henrik's head, sending him flying down and smashing into the ground. Helene shot down at him with her fist raised, but a beam of energy shot up at her, and she evaded it and continued coming down at Henrik. Henrik flew out of the dust cloud that had been around him, and Helene immediately corrected her course and came at him once again.

Henrik fired a Lichttöten at her, but she disappeared, allowing it to hit a wall. Helene rammed her foot into the side of Henrik's face, sending him flying through the air and smashing into a wall on the opposite side of the room. Helene shot down at the floor right under where Henrik had landed, and she rammed her fist into it with all her strength, blasting out the wall in front of her and sending the rest of it collapsing to the ground, burying Henrik in rubble. Helene backed off as the rubble burst apart, and Henrik stood on the ground, hunched over, blood all over him, panting in exhaustion. "You're strong, girl," he said to her.

"Thanks, you're not bad yourself," Helene said to him with a smile. She shot in at him with her fist raised, but he shrouded his arm in energy and held it out to defend himself. Helene rammed her fist into the Handschuh with all her strength, and Henrik was knocked back a few inches while she swung her foot into his gut, knocking him back into the room behind him. Helene shot up at him with her fist raised, but Henrik saw her coming and fired a Lichttöten down at her. "Don't you know that's not going to work?" Helene said with a small grin. She disappeared as the Lichttöten flew past, and she rammed the bottom of her foot into the top of Henrik's head, and he spat out blood as he went flying down and smashing into the ground.

Helene shot down at him and built up power into her fist, and she rammed it into Henrik's gut with all the strength she could summon, blasting out a clean hole in the floor under him, sending Henrik, along with several tons of rubble, dropping down into the floor below. Henrik lay amongst the rubble with blood all over him, and he had his eyes closed. Helene dropped down next to him and put her index and middle fingers to his neck. After a moment she straightened back up disappeared. Hans backed off through the air, but it was clear that he was on his last leg.

He had copious amounts of blood on him, and his clothes were torn to shreds. He flew out of the way of a Sonnescheinen that dropped down on top of him, but he was then hit with a Sternlicht that enveloped him in light, concealing him from view. When the light faded, Hans hung in the air, his eyes half-open, and he was staring blankly out. Gabriella's arm shot up from behind him and wrapped around his throat, and his eyes widened in horror as he struggled to free himself, but Gabriella held him in place, and after a few moments, Hans fell limp and hung in her grasp. She unwrapped her arm from his neck and let him drop to the ground, and she retracted her arm back to its original length. Lisa and Sabine looked down at the corpse, and after a second, all three of them dropped to their knees, and then keeled over and passed out.

Johann flew through the air with a dribble of blood running down his forehead, but he held his arm out in front of him and said, "_Schwarzblut!_" A concentration of black, smoke-like energy appeared in his hand, and out of it came a sword with a wide blade and black hilt. He swung the sword through the air and fired an arc of black energy, but I flew over it and wove some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu out at Johann, and he looked over at Daniel, who had his arms held out to the fireballs with a nasty grin on his face. All of the fireballs exploded into half a dozen tiny bullets of highly concentrated fire, which flew far too fast for Johann to evade. The fireballs tore the ground apart around him and obscured him from view in smoke, and Daniel looked on with his grin. That was when Johann appeared right in front of him, and Daniel's eyes widened in horror as Johann tore his sword through his torso, spattering blood through the air as he dropped to his knees.

"Daniel!" I screamed. Johann held his sword to the side of Daniel's face, and the blade became shrouded in black energy. I shot in at Johann with a _Rasengan_ raised, but Johann saw me coming and held his sword out in defense, and I rammed my jutsu into his blade. The power of my jutsu punched a crater into the ground under us, and I pressed against him with all my strength while Johann fended me off effortlessly. He then concentrated more black energy into his sword, and he swung it up through my _Rasengan_, causing it to explode and send me flying back through the air.

I smashed into a wall and dropped to the ground, and I looked out at Johann with one half-opened eye, and Johann pointed his sword at me with a grin. I rose back to my feet and hunched over in pain, and as I panted in pain and exhaustion, I made some hand signs and formed a _Chidori_ in my hand. I held my jutsu out, and Johann's grin widened in a way that was coaxing me to attack him. That was when a circuit of electricity shot out from my jutsu and surrounded my body, and my eyes widened as I suddenly became enveloped in an aura of pure lightning. Johann's eyes widened as well, and he looked around at Daniel, who was laying on the ground with his arm held out to me, a grin on his face.

Johann aimed his sword down at him, but I got down on one hand, causing his eyes to widen again as he looked back at me, and I leered at him as he held his sword out in defense. I shot at him, blasting up dust thirty feet behind me, and I held my arms halfway out to my sides so that they were trailing behind me, causing the lightning to look almost like a bird. "_CHIDORI PHOENIX!_" The ground around Johann started to fly up into the air as his defense slowly crumbled, and I closed the gap between us and hit him with all my force, causing an almighty explosion that blasted out almost a fourth of the castle, sending dust and rubble flying into open air. The dust cloud hung for almost five minutes, but when it cleared, I was hunched over with my hands on my knees, panting in exhaustion.

I was looking in front of me, sure that Johann couldn't have survived that. But I was wrong. The dust cleared, and Johann was on one knee, with his sword hilt held at his side, nearly the entire blade having been broken off. He had blood all over him, particularly in his chest where there was an enormous stain covering his entire torso. But Johann was still glaring at me, and his eyes mixed pain with rage. "That was quite some technique you came up with," he said to me. "If it were anyone else they would be dead now. But I'm not through yet. I have one last trick to play.

He stretched his arms out to his sides while his head became hyperextended, and he bellowed out, "_Schwerkraft!_" An incredible force of energy sucked us in towards him, and it was all we could do not to be pulled in. I activated a _Flight Jutsu _and aimed my soles straight at Johann, and was still only barely able to keep away from him. Daniel, who had magically recovered from the massive gash in his chest, was using Stehen to do precisely the same thing. He also had Eva in his arms, and was barely able to hold her.

"Do you know what he's trying to do?" I asked.

"Yeah," Daniel answered. "He's trying to keep us in place while he blows himself up."

"What!?" I said, wondering if I had misheard.

"The explosion will destroy this castle and everyone in it," he informed me.

"What the hell are we gonna do!?" I asked.

"In all honesty, there's not a whole lot we can do," Daniel said unhelpfully.

That was when the Soldatens ship came around and to a halt just outside, and the cargo doors opened to reveal Sebastian and Catarina, beaten and bloody but alive. Helene was piloting the ship solo, and it was all she could do to keep it from being sucked in. Daniel and I flew over, and I came into the cargo hold while Daniel dropped into the cockpit, and he said to Helene, "I thought we were out of gas?"

"I found some gas," she said without looking at him.

"Really, you found gas?" Daniel responded skeptically.

"Okay, I stole some gas," Helene admitted without guilt.

"You got this thing?" Daniel asked her.

"Yeah," Helene answered.

"Alright, I'm gonna go check on the others," he announced.

Helene didn't respond as Daniel exited the cockpit and came into the cargo hold, which contained all the rest of the Soldaten. The door was still open, and Sebastian and I were looking down at Johann, who was outlined in black energy. Daniel witnessed this and told us that he was about to blow. Helene was struggling to get the ship out of the gravitational field, and we were barely moving.

"We're not gonna make it," I said to the cargo hold at large.

Daniel looked around at all of us, and then down at Johann, and after a moment he said, "No…no we are not, not like this." He walked forward to the exit, and he grabbed a kunai knife out of my holster.

"What are you doing?" I said with a confused expression. He looked at me with a final smile, and my eyes slowly widened in horror.

"It's been a privilege to know you," Daniel said to me, "and an honor to fight with you."

"Don't you…" I said, unable to find the right words. "Don't you dare!"

All of the other Soldaten stood up and looked at Daniel looked back at them and said, "Take care of yourselves."

Without another word, he jumped out of the ship and shot down towards Johann. He threw the kunai and hit him right in the chest, knocking him back and causing the gravitational field to cease, but the explosive energy around him still remained. The ship was now free, and Helene wasted no time in flying away, which I had to imagine was because she didn't know what had happened. "_Hold on a minute!_" I screamed at the cockpit, but she didn't stop or turn around. Daniel dropped down next to Johann and grabbed his wrists, holding him there while the energy around him built up.

"What the hell are you doing?" Johann said angrily with blood dribbling out of his mouth.

"Saving the day," he answered with a final grin. The air was rent apart in a colossal explosion of black energy that rocked the very earth, and I looked back through the window as the entire castle was eradicated in the blast. I then turned around and collapsed in my seat, gasping in horror, unable to accept what had just happened. Nearly all of the Soldaten were crying, and Helene piloted the ship with her teeth gritted, tears streaming down her face. And among the wave of despair that had hit the Soldaten like a tidal wave, we had won. The Blitzleute were gone. The shinobi world was safe.

Everything after that was a blur. Helene explained to the authorities that we were innocent, that the ones who condemned us were in fact evil. We were pardoned and allowed to go home. The cities we had destroyed would be rebuilt, with no financial cost from us. But little of this registered with me as I looked on, watching the world spin as if nothing had happened. Helene suggested we go home.

"No," I told her. She looked at me, as well as did the other Soldaten. "Not yet," I said. "I just…I wanna make sure." Helene's eyes narrowed in sympathy, and she agreed. The Soldatens ship flew over the castle in Munich, which had been completely leveled, with dust trailing from it. The cargo doors opened, and I looked down at the scene.

My eyes suddenly widened, and I broke into a grin as I turned around and went back into the ship. Sabine, who saw this as well, said, "We should have known that was gonna happen."

Sebastian looked down as well, and he smiled and said, "What a beautiful end to a beautiful story."

The rest of the Soldaten looked out of the windows down at the castle as he sat there on the ground.

* * *

Some of you are probably wondering why I introduced a new faction while still in the process of fighting another new faction. This was because I didn't want to have the Leaf involved, and Matt needed allies. So came the Soldaten. For those of you who don't know German, the fact that you're reading this means you have access to internet, as well as a translator. While not the most accurate, it should give you a general idea of what's being said. Anyway, welcome to year three.


	95. Chapter 93: Battle of the Mississippi

BATTLE OF THE MISSISSIPPI

"We are dead," Nichi said with a note of finality in her voice.

Erin nodded and said, "Oh yeah. But hey, we had a heck of a run."

"Oh, we ain't dead yet," I said as I examined the force we were up against. What caught my eye was the bright-yellow glow of what appeared to be five Mini-Cons gathered behind the drop ships.

"Matt, there are hundreds of them out there. There's no way we can beat them all," Nichi said exasperatedly.

I smiled at her, silently assuring her that we would make it out of this alive.

"Well…who do we go for first?" Erin asked.

"Hold up, I'm going to assign the three of you tasks. Nichi, you'll have Flashbang, and Taylor will have Lock-On, just like always. Erin, since we haven't picked up any more blaster-type Mini-Cons, you'll just be using your blaster to pick them off like always. If you see someone about to blindside me, blow their head off. You'll use the speeder to quickly move from place to place. I'll have the purple one and the green one, along with Safeguard to protect me. I'll be going in and drawing their fire, while Nichi and Taylor keep a distance and blow them away. We all know what we're doing?" I concluded. They all nodded.

"Here, Erin," Nichi said, giving her the scope on her blaster that I had never noticed before.

"What is-?" I began, but the smile Nichi gave me answered my question.

"Alright. Let's do this," I said, and I merged with Safeguard, while the purple Mini-Con transformed into a blaster and attached to my arm. The green Mini-Con turned into what looked like a pulse emitter, with the ridges on its arms and legs forming a perfect circle pointing outwards.

With this, Taylor, Nichi and I jumped over the ridge while Erin stayed behind and aimed her blaster. As I walked forward, I felt the presence of a foreign entity in my mind, and a voice in my head said, _My name is Discord._ I could tell this was coming from the purple guy. _I am Knockdown,_ said the green one.

[Erin's point-of-view] I waited anxiously with my blaster pointed at the force, waiting for someone to make a move. Then, I felt a foreign presence in my mind, and a voice said, _I am Highgear._ I smiled, knowing this was coming from the Mini-Con attached to my back.

[Matt's point-of-view] I pointed Discord and fired, sending a ball of orange electricity that hit the shockmace, and caused it to come to our side. The entire force saw the blast, and aimed their blasters. The shockmace I had hit started attacking the other shockmaces, who quickly killed it. I super-sped forward, injuring two of the shockmaces, and crashing into the midst of the light units. I fired Knockdown, which emanated an electrical pulse that knocked the nearest thirty light units and one of the serges off their feet. I was instantly impressed with Knockdown's ability to create an electromagnetic pulse, but I wasn't very confident the effects would be permanent.

I super-sped out of the way of a hailstorm of blasts, and came out fifty feet in the air. All of the heavy units fired a pair of homing missiles up at me, and I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Giant Air Shield!_" The air around me condensed into a twenty-foot ball, which blew the missiles off course and sent them all flying past me. The spider tanks braced and charged, and I wasn't sure my _Air Shield_ could hold them off. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_, and shot out of the way of nineteen beams of energy, and the last one hit me in the leg, blowing the armor on it clean off. I was knocked out of the air and sent barreling towards the ground, right in the middle of an army of light units.

The light units all started firing up at me, and blood spattered into the air above me as I fell, but that was when I became engulfed in a puff of smoke and came out as a log. I came out at the ridge Erin was hiding behind, and she was firing away at the decepticlones, taking out one light unit after the other. Nichi fired off Flashbang, taking out three light units and knocking a serge off its feet. That was when two of the shockmaces came at her with their staffs raised. Nichi, knowing she could never take them both, dove out of the way as they came at her, and she got to her feet and backed up when they both tried to cut her.

She fired Flashbang at one of them, knocking it off its feet, but now would have to wait a while before she could use him again. She backed up, firing her blaster at the second one, but that one was smart, and blocked the blasts with its staff. He finally got to Nichi and swung, but Nichi ducked it, then rolled out of the way. She got up and ran, and the shockmace charged up electricity and swung its staff, sending an arc of it at Nichi while she ran. Just before the arc hit her, I came in and intercepted it, then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Nichi fired Flashbang at the shockmace, but the shockmace blocked it with its staff, leaving it unharmed. The first shockmace was on its feet, and both were now slowly advancing on Nichi, who had no way out.

Taylor rolled out of the way of three serge rockets, which crashed to the ground next to her, and she fired Lock-On, sending two homing missiles at one serge. The serge rolled out of the way, and the missiles took out three light units, while the rest fired at Taylor. Taylor watched in horror as the blasts came at her, but she then disappeared, allowing the blasts to fly harmlessly past. I set her down away from all of the firing, so she could have a good chance to get back in the action, and I sped off to rejoin the battle. I shot straight at the army, who started firing at me, but I dodged every single one of the blasts, and formed a _Chidori_ in my hand.

I took out about a dozen light units with a single charge, and I then jumped up and out of the way of a barrage of blasts. I came down into the crowd of light units, kicking two of them up into the air, then grabbing them and throwing them into two more, and finishing up by throwing two fire-kunai into the crowd, and super-speeding out. The explosions rose above the troops, sending parts raining across the battlefield, and I came out right next to a spider tank. I used one of its legs for support to swing myself onto its turret, and began hacking away with a kunai. The spider tank tried to buck me off, but to no avail, until I was blasted off by a beam of energy.

I went rolling across the ground, and when I regained my balance, I was stemming blood flow from my shoulder. Two of the heavy units approached me and started firing down at me, but I blocked all of the blasts with a kunai, until one hit my hand, and two more to the torso knocked me off my feet. They prepared to finish me, until three very well-aimed shots blew the head off of one, and I landed three fire-kunai into the other, blowing it to smithereens. That was when the spider tank I had just been blown off of started firing down at me, and I got to my feet and ran out of the way of the blasts.

The medium units guarding the nearest two drop ships started firing at me, and I rolled out of the way of the onslaught, then went straight for the drop ships. I leaped onto one, then jumped across them, dodging blasts the whole way, and I pulled out four fire-kunai. I threw them into the crowd, taking out about fifteen of the light units and a spider tank, while one of the heavy units fired a pair of missiles at me. I ducked them and they landed in the drop ship behind me, sending it sliding across the ground into the one next to it. The medium units ran from the wreckage, but then started firing at me again. I landed on the shoulders of one of the heavy units, and I stuck a fire-kunai right into its missile pack.

I leaped out of the way, and the resulting explosion took out the heavy unit, and sent the nearest drop ship skidding back, scattering medium units. While flying through the air, I looked down at the battlefield, and saw Taylor, Erin and Nichi fighting to their last breath like they had been doing it for years. Nichi took out one of the shockmaces with its own staff, with the wreckage of the other one laying behind her, and she then fired Flashbang at one of the serges, blowing it to pieces. Taylor was in the middle of a skirmish with two serges, neither of whom could even touch her. She landed a shot into the rocket pack of one of them, blowing it to pieces and distracting the other one long enough for her to blow its head off.

Erin was sniping away at the enemy, not failing to make her mark even once, and had already taken out over thirty light units. I activated a _Flight Jutsu _and flew out of the way of a hailstorm of blasts, then through sheer reflexes alone, I managed to catch a missile from a heavy unit, and I lobbed it down at the crowd, blowing away three light units. I reached into my pockets and pulled out a hand full of tiny black marbles. I flew over the decepticlones, and a series of ten-foot-tall explosions in my wake blew apart the force, leaving about seventy of them left.

The remaining serges fired rockets up at me, and I flew out of the way of them, until three caught me in the torso, blowing the armor off of me, and I was sent flying to the ground, crashing hard and rolling across it, sending the armor flying all over the place. I came out thirty feet away from where I landed, and I noticed three of the heavy units making their way over to me. I got back to my feet, and rolled out of the way of half a dozen missiles, which all flew past me. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Nova Flame!_" I fired two torrents of flame at the heavy units, and two of them were blown apart while the third kept coming.

I pulled out a shuriken and lobbed it at the last one, taking its head off and sending it crashing to the ground. Now, there were only five of them left, but a squad of twenty light units came over, isolating me from my cousins. I made a hand sign, and prepared to blast my way through.

[Nichi's point-of-view] I fired Flashbang into the crowd, destroying four light units, and the others quickly fired back at me. I managed to dodge most of the blasts, until two hit me in the leg, and one in the gut, knocking me off my feet. I hit the ground, blood all over me, but I pointed Flashbang at them, preparing to fight until the end. Fifteen light units pointed their blasters down at me, but I fired Flashbang into the crowd, destroying all but seven of them. Then, two Lock-On missiles came in and trashed five more, and Erin took out the last two. I got to my feet, struggling through the pain, and I glared at a spider tank, who was prepared for a fight.

[Taylor's point-of-view] I fired my blaster repeatedly at a group of light units, taking them all out one after another, but then, two blasts caught me in the leg, and I hit the ground, but quickly finished off the rest of the light units. I rose back to my feet, trying to keep as much weight off my leg as possible, and I turned around to see a shockmace glaring at me.

[Erin's point-of-view] I sniped away at the light units, making sure to get any who aimed their blasters at Taylor or Nichi, although I wasn't in much of a position to be helping Matt. That was when a missile shot over at me, and I dove out of the way as the ridge I had been hiding behind was blown apart. I rose up out of the smoke to find a heavy unit looking at me.

[Matt's point-of-view] The remains of twenty light units were strewn across the ground around me, and I was panting heavily from the battle. I looked over and saw the remaining shockmace making its way towards me, and I threw three fire-kunai at it. The shockmace blocked all of the knives with its staff, then charged me before the explosions could hit it. I pulled out a kunai and blocked its first slash, then ducked out of the way of its second, and ran the kunai across its stomach. The blade broke off, leaving me wide open for the shockmace to jab its electrified staff down at me, causing an explosion that blew me ten feet back.

When I came to, the shockmace was preparing an assault. I looked up and felt my heart sink as I witnessed five drop ships fly over the Mississippi River and head straight for St. Peters. I made to shoot them down, but the shockmace got in my way, baring its staff at me. Nichi backed away from the spider tank with blood all over her, and the spider tank was just getting started as it prepared for round two. Taylor managed to duck a slash from the shockmace, but the shockmace then put the balled end of its staff in her stomach, blasting her with electricity and sending her shooting back.

When she came to a halt, she simply laid there, unable to get up, while the shockmace advanced towards her. The heavy unit attacking Erin stomped its foot, knocking her five feet into the air and making her land hard on her back. She groaned in pain, then looked up to see the heavy unit baring down at her. After witnessing my comrades' struggles, I closed my eyes and focused. Fiery-red lines ran across my body from my neck, which then faded to black, and I became surrounded in an aura of purple chakra. I disappeared in a burst of speed, leaving dust in my wake.


	96. Chapter 94: Desperation

DESPERATION

A flash ran past the shockmace, which then fell to pieces. I stood ten feet behind the wreckage with a regular _Chidori_ in my hand.

[Nichi's point-of-view] I got to my feet and ran just as the spider tank fired a concentrated beam of energy down at me, and I fired four Flashbang rockets at it. The spider tank was hit head-on with the rockets, but marched out of the smoke firing as if nothing had happened. I tried to duck the blasts, but one hit me in the chest, knocking me off my feet. I fired my blaster up at it, but the blasts bounced right off its metal legs as it charged up another beam. I tried to get back to my feet, but the pain in my chest held me down just long enough for the spider tank to fire its beam, which hit the ground below me and sent me flying through the air. I landed five feet away, groaning in pain, and I looked over to see the spider tank staring down at me.

I fired Flashbang at it, but the spider tank shook off the rockets like they were nothing and fired four blasts down at me. I managed to get back to my feet and back out of the way of the blasts, but the spider tank then caught me twice in the chest, knocking me back down with blood all over me. I fired Flashbang at it, shrouding it in smoke, and then got back to my feet and ran away. As I ran, the spider tank fired at me, but I managed to dodge all of the blasts, and I then turned around and started firing back with my blaster. The blasts bounced off of the spider tank's legs, and the spider tank braced itself and charged up another beam.

I dove out of the way as the beam crashed into the ground, and I fired Flashbang once more, which hit its turrets and crumpled them, causing its entire body to collapse to the ground. I was now panting in exhaustion, but I knew I wouldn't have long to rest, as the remaining decepticlones were mobilizing to stage a counterattack. There were now seventy medium units, five heavy units, nineteen spider tanks, ten serges, six light units, thirty-two guerillas, and one shockmace.

[Taylor's point-of-view] I ducked a slash from the shockmace, who then brought the balled end of his staff down on top of me. I managed to avoid contact with it, but electricity blasted from the staff, knocking me back and leaving me wide open for the shockmace to pin me with its staff. Electricity coursed through my body, making me scream in pain, until I eventually fell motionless. The shockmace took its staff off of me, then spun it around so that the blade pointed down at me. I fired Lock-On at it, knocking it back several steps, and allowing me to get back to my feet in order to prepare a counterattack.

The shockmace waited for me to make a move, and I braced myself, then charged him head-on. The shockmace spun its staff around, hitting me in the stomach with the balled end and knocking me off my feet. The instant I hit the ground, I fired Lock-On, which caught the shockmace off guard and hit him in the torso, knocking him back several more steps. I fired my blaster several times, knocking its staff out of its hands, but it then charged me, put its fist in my stomach, and left me on my knees. While I was preoccupied, the shockmace walked over and picked up its staff. It twirled it around in its hands triumphantly, and it pointed the blade down at me. I rolled out of the way of the shockmace's stab, then fired Lock-On right into its gut, knocking it back yet again.

I rose back to my feet and fired my blaster, but the shockmace managed to block them all with its staff, and it then charged me. I ducked its first slice, then rolled out of the way of the second, and backed out of the way of the third. I pointed Lock-On at it, but the shockmace walked towards me menacingly, and I pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. My eyes widened in horror, and the shockmace slammed the balled end of its staff into the ground, sending an electrical current at me that blasted me off my feet, and paralyzed me in pain. The shockmace walked towards me, electricity flowing around its staff, and it raised the staff into the air and prepared to bring it down on top of me. I rolled out of the way just as the blade hit the dirt, and I fired my blaster several times at the shockmace.

The blasts bounced off of him, and he wrenched his mace out of the ground and advanced towards me. In a bout of reflex, I pointed Lock-On and fired, and the missile shot from the barrel, flying at the shockmace as if in slow-motion, and it hit the shockmace square in the head, blowing it clean off. The shockmace's body dropped to the ground, and I rose to my feet, proud of my work.

[Erin's point-of-view] I rolled out of the way of two rockets that crashed into the ground, and I fired my blaster three times, landing all three shots into the heavy unit's head. The heavy unit advanced on me as if I had never touched him, and I activated Highgear and sped towards him. I used the extra boost given by my Mini-Con to leap up and over the heavy unit, firing several shots into its collar area along the way, and I landed on the ground right behind him. The heavy unit raised its foot into the air, and stomped it back onto the ground, causing a shockwave that I wasn't ready for, and I was sent flying through the air, and landed hard on the ground. I brushed my hair out of my face, and the heavy unit fired two blasts into my back, knocking me down again.

The heavy unit stomped over to me and raised its foot, preparing to bring it down on top of me and finish me. Just before the final blow landed, I rolled out of the way, and the heavy unit's foot smashed into the ground, causing a shockwave that blew me back, but I caught a hold of a rock sticking up out of the ground and stopped myself. I fired several shots at the heavy unit, but the heavy unit brushed them off like they were nothing and fired back. I got to my feet and ran out of the way of the blasts, then stopped cold and charged the heavy unit, using Highgear to increase my speed.

I came around behind the heavy unit, who hadn't registered what had just happened, and I fired a shot right into one of its rocket packs. The heavy unit's shoulder exploded, blowing its arm off and putting it at a kneel. I prepared to put one in the other rocket pack, but the heavy unit rose back to its feet, ruining my shot, and it fired a rocket right into my stomach, blowing me into the air and sending me crashing to the ground twenty feet away. I groaned in pain, wondering how I was still alive, but I knew that was about to change as the heavy unit stomped towards me. I crawled in the other direction, my body writhing in pain, but the heavy unit fired a single shot into my back, knocking me down once more.

The heavy unit prepared to end it once and for all, but I spun around, firing a shot that flew right into the heavy unit's head, blowing it apart and sending parts scattering across the ground. My arm dropped to the ground, and, not caring that we still had half an army to deal with, I fell unconscious.

[Nichi's point-of-view] I fired my blaster, killing the final two light units, and I fired Flashbang into a guerilla, destroying it as well. I heard someone land behind me, and I turned around, but my face fell. "Matt," I said, looking across his body at his Curse Mark.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," he said to me. "Get Taylor and Erin and retreat for now. I'm going after those drop ships."

I noticed the look in his eyes, and I concluded that he was indeed in his right mind, and I ran off.

[Matt's point-of-view] I made a hand sign, and a burst of chakra emanated from my feet. I shot into the air, flying after the drop ships at the speed of a bullet. I put my all into this _Flight Jutsu_, as it meant the difference between life and death for St. Peters. They had a healthy head-start on me, but I knew I was going to catch them. Within a minute, I had them in view, and tore off after them. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Nova Burst!_" I fired a burst of flame at the drop ships, hitting one of them and blasting it out of the air.

I caught up to the drop ships and threw three fire-kunai into one of them, blowing it apart as well and sending it crashing to the ground. The other three came to a halt, and the cargo doors opened to reveal six medium units in each to fire up at me. "_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" My _Air Shield_ blocked the blasts, and I disappeared in a burst of speed. The thrusters on the back of one of the ships exploded, and the entire thing came crashing to the ground next. The medium units in the other two fired up at me, but I super-sped out of the way of all of the blasts, until I finally shot at them with a _Chidori_ in hand.

I rammed right into one of the drop ships, taking it out and sending it dropping to the ground as well. I spun around and fired Discord right into the final ship, which hit the medium units and knocked them off their feet. They rose back up and started swinging their blasters at each other, and when that didn't work, they started firing, destroying the ship and killing them all. Smiling that the threat had been neutralized, I flew off back towards the Mississippi River, and while I flew, I felt my Curse Mark recede back into my neck. I came upon the Mississippi, and spotted the girls hiding in some trees, then descended down to them.

I disappeared in a burst of speed and came out right next to them, causing a dust cloud to rise where I landed. I bent down next to Erin and pulled out my second vile of Tsunade's medicine and put two drops in her throat. Her injuries instantly regenerated, and she regained consciousness and rose back to her feet.

"How long have I been out?" she asked.

"About ten minutes," Nichi answered. At this point, the sun was starting to set on the horizon.

"Alright, we ready to finish this?" I asked. In response, the three of them raised their blasters. I disappeared in a burst of speed and charged the decepticlones head on. They didn't even see me coming, and I tore through them, taking out four guerillas, and I leaped into the air, firing a _Fireball_ down on top of one of the drop ships. All of the medium units guarding it were caught in the blast, and they were all destroyed. The rest of the medium units fired up at me, but I dove out of the way of the blasts, and lobbed six fire-kunai at them. The series of explosions that followed took out three more drop ships and twenty-five more medium units.

Ten of the spider tanks fired concentrated beams up at me, but I super-sped out of the way, allowing them to fly harmlessly into the air. A series of smaller explosions that blasted up dirt tore through the line of spider tanks, destroying half of them and leaving ten of them left. One of the heavy units fired a pair of rockets at me, but I leaped out of the way, and one of the rockets hit the ground and the other hit a drop ship, sending it sliding back and smashing two of the medium units. Taylor fired Lock-On twice, each time taking out a guerilla, and Erin fired her blaster over and over again, picking off the guerillas one by one.

Nichi was currently in the middle of a skirmish with three serges, and she took one out with Flashbang, and blocked the blade of another with her blaster. She grabbed that serge's arm and used it to cut the third one in half, and she finally put a blast right into her hostage's head, knocking him down as well. I appeared fifteen feet in front of a heavy unit, but then disappeared again as it fired a pair of missiles down at me. The core compartment on its chest exploded, and the heavy unit dropped to the ground. Two of the guerillas managed to get around Erin's defense, but she quickly took them down, leaving seven more.

Taylor rolled out of the way of a serge's blade, and she landed a Lock-On missile right into its rocket pack, blowing the entire thing to pieces. A rocket then hit the ground at her feet, knocking her down, but she fired several shots into the serge that had attacked her, which then dropped to the ground. An enormous explosion knocked a drop ship into the air, sending it smashing down on top another one, shattering the windows on both and leaving them both inoperable. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu right into the crowd of remaining medium units, and the flames hit the two drop ships and caused a massive explosion that obliterated all of the medium units and sent parts raining across the ground.

Now in full killer mode, I lobbed a fire-kunai right into a serge that was standing thirty-five feet away, and it was blown to pieces by the explosion. Two of the guerillas fired EMPs at me, but I super-sped out of the way and let them fly into the air. I came out right in the middle of a pack of three, and I fired Knockdown, disabling them all. Before they hit the ground, I disappeared in a burst of speed, and all three guerillas exploded. I reappeared on the ground, and just barely managed to duck three concentrated beams from the spider tanks. I prepared to take them out, but a pair of Flashbang rockets took out one, while Lock-On missiles took out the other two.

I disappeared in a burst of speed, and a circuit of electricity ran across the remaining seven spider tanks, and all of them exploded. That brought the invasion force down to four heavy units, four guerillas, and four serges. I took out one of my mini-bombs and tossed it at one of the heavy units, which was blown apart. A serge rocket shot at me from behind, but I spun around and fired three _Liquid Bullets_, one of which intercepted a second rocket, and the other two hit the serge that fired it, causing it to short-circuit. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired a series of small fireballs through the air, which assaulted the decepticlones, taking out all of the remaining serges and guerillas. I super-sped out of the way of a pair of heavy unit missiles, and I came down on top of one with a _Chidori_, severing it in half, and I charged the second one with a _Rasengan_, blowing it apart as well.

I disappeared in a burst of speed to knock the final heavy unit off its guard, and I reappeared right in front of it with a _Chidori_, which I used to cut it in several places, until it dropped to the ground. Now that the invasion force was finally neutralized, I was panting in exhaustion, running low on chakra. The girls walked over to me, all panting as well. The sun finally set, and the world was thrown into darkness. "Alright, I ain't moving until the morning, so let's just crash here for the night," I said to them. They all nodded, and we went to sleep, completely disregarding the five Mini-Cons at the bank of the river.


	97. Chapter 95: Thrust

THRUST

We woke up the next morning, and I let the girls wake up while I went over to get the Mini-Cons. I unlocked them all, and after a conversation with our other six Mini-Cons, I found out we had acquired Hailstorm, Smackdown, Aurora, Covert and Deflector. I was just about to find out what our new friends could do, when the roar of an engine in the distance caught my attention.

We all looked into the sky and saw a black jet flying towards us. It came within twenty feet of the ground before transforming, and the Decepticon slammed into the earth, skidding across twenty feet. Flashbang turned into a rocket launcher and attached to my arm, and I fired it at him. The Decepticon swiped his arm at the rockets, knocking them both out of the air without leaving a scratch on his metal armor. "Well, now, you have quite the stash of Mini-Cons there, don't you?" he said to us in a pleasant voice, much opposed to Starscream and Cyclonus.

"Yeah, and we'll use every one of them to kill you if that's what it takes," I told him. "But first, who are you?"

"My name is Thrust," he said to us. "And I would suggest handing over that stash of Mini-Cons quietly, and I might consider letting you live."

"Tch, get over yourself," I said to him. Safeguard converted into armor, and attached to my body. "You guys take the other Mini-Cons and provide covering fire," I said to the girls. "But, just so you don't hit me, only attack if he's about to get the better of me, you got me?" I asked them.

They all nodded, and they, along with the Mini-Cons, ran off to gain some distance from the battlefield. "Big mistake," he said, and he pointed his arm at me and fired a wrist blaster. I super-sped out of the way, and came down on top of him with a _Chidori_ raised. Thrust pointed his arm up at me and fired another blast, but I put my _Chidori_ in the way to intercept it. The purple blast hit the _Chidori_ and exploded with tremendous force, sending me flying back and crashing to the ground thirty feet away.

"I'm not like Starscream or Cyclonus," he informed me. "Those two idiots pale in comparison to the might that I wield, simply because I was programmed with brain circuitry. I am the scientist of the Decepticons. I design all of our weaponry, and put it to good use. In short, you can't possibly beat me."

"Well, we'll just have to see about that," I said as I raised Flashbang. Thrust charged me, and I fired Flashbang at him, but Thrust leaped into the air, and activated jet-thrusters to keep him elevated. He fired his blaster down at me several times, but I ran out of the way as the blasts blew the ground apart. I fired Flashbang at him once more, but Thrust knocked both rockets out of the air again, and then pointed the blaster on his opposite wrist down at me. This time, he fired a missile, which I found out was a homer, and it hit the ground at my feet, blowing me into the air and sending me flying twenty feet away. I rose back to my feet with blood running down my face, and I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

I fired the fireball up at Thrust, but Thrust flew out of the way, and fired his blaster down at me. "_Earth Style: Terra Shield!_" A wall of rock rose up in front of me, but the first blast blew it apart, while the other two crashed into the dust made from the impact. Thrust waited to see what had happened to me, when a shadow loomed over him. He turned around and looked straight up into the air, and I came down on top of him with a _Chidori_ raised. Thrust pointed his blaster arm at me, but this time, he fired a machine gun on the underside of his wrist, which filled me with about twenty bullets.

I disappeared in a puff of smoke, making Thrust's eyes widen. Right at that moment, a kunai hit his back, but bounced off his armor, and the explosion from the paper-bomb around the handle blasted him out of the air. He crashed into the ground twenty feet away from where I was standing, shrouded in smoke, which when cleared revealed him to be only lightly damaged. "Okay," he said to me, "I'm starting to see how Starscream and Cyclonus had some trouble with you. However, it's as I said, those two idiots don't compare to me!" And with this, his right arm converted into a rifle, which he pointed at me and fired.

I disappeared in a burst of speed, but Thrust swung his rifle through the air, hitting me in the cheek, and sending me rolling across the ground. Before I had even come to a stop, Thrust fired a round from his rifle right into my chest, shattering my breastplate and sending me sliding across the ground. I back-flipped to my feet, and fired Flashbang once more, but Thrust activated a shield generator on his right arm which blocked the rockets, and he fired a missile at me, which I just barely managed to jump. The missile followed me through the air, but I made some hand signs, and fired twenty tiny fireballs out of my mouth.

One of them hit and detonated the missile, while the rest all flew down at Thrust. Thrust activated his shield generator once more, which blocked all of the fireballs, and he then fired his rifle at me. I managed to fly out of the way of the shots, until one landed in my side, blowing off the rest of my torso armor, and sending me plummeting to the ground. I just barely managed to regain control of myself and used a _Flight Jutsu_ to break my fall, and I landed on the ground and pulled out a kunai. "Oh, come on," Thrust said exasperatedly. "Do you honestly think a puny little blade like that is going to do anything against me?"

And then, his rifle converted once more into a sword handle, out of which a lavender plasma blade sprung out. "Now, this, on the other hand, can cut through anything," he bragged, and he prepared to charge.

"Aren't scientists supposed to be the ones who stay off the battlefield?" I asked, really getting sick of this guy. "Hah! Maybe in your movies, Earthling, but on our home-world of Cybertron, we scientists are the ones who strike fear into our enemies."

"Who created you guys?" I asked him.

"Hm? Who created us? Well, I don't like to delve in philosophy, but legend says that the Transformers were created by the Allspark. The Cybertronian runes state that the Allspark is the creator of the planet Cybertron itself, and all of its inhabitants," he explained.

"Wonderful," I said quietly, wondering how I was going to beat this guy.

"Are you ready to get back to the fight?" Thrust asked. Then, a set of four rockets spiraling around each other flew past me and crashed into Thrust, blowing him back and sending him rolling across the ground. My eyes widened in shock, and I turned around to see Nichi standing there, the Mini-Con Hailstorm on her wrist. "Uh, switch ya," I said. But then, a wave of despair ran through my mind, however, it didn't seem to be coming from my own emotions. And then I realized it. It was Flashbang calling out to me. We had fought so much together, that we had become extremely close, and Flashbang didn't want to stop that now.

After a moment, I smiled, and said, "Never mind. I'll stick with this one. But in the meantime," Safeguard fell off my body, and what was left of him converged and converted back into its robot form, which had two gaping holes in its torso. "Take him with you. He's been through enough already. Try and get McKinley to repair him again," I said to her.

I could tell Nichi didn't like it, but she eventually ran forward, scooped up Safeguard, and stood back up to face me. She looked at me straight in the eyes for several seconds before saying, "Don't you dare die on me." She kissed me on the cheek, and ran off. I stared after her for almost a minute, but then the sound of Thrust rising to his feet brought me back to the battlefield.

"I hope you've said your goodbyes, kid, because you're _not_ making it out of here alive," he said angrily.

"We'll see," I said as I put my knife away and prepared to charge. Thrust pointed his missile-launcher arm at me and fired the machine gun under his wrist, but I disappeared in a burst of speed. I came out right behind Thrust, who activated jet-boots, and flew into the air, leaving me to eat his smoke. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and flew up after him, but he fired three missiles down at me to keep me busy. I barrel-rolled out of the way of all of the missiles, but they all came back up after me. I made some hand signs and fired an _Ember Shot_ into the middle of the missiles, which then exploded, sending a dozen tiny fireballs in each direction.

All of the missiles were hit and detonated, but then a rifle round put a clean hole in my shoulder, making me lose control of my _Flight Jutsu_, and sending me plummeting to the ground. I hit, becoming shrouded in dust, and when the dust cleared, I was already healing my shoulder. I had almost cut off the blood flow when a purple blast hit my other arm, erupting and blasting me into a crater set into the ground. With this, I was in too much pain to move, and Thrust was hovering over me, pointing his blaster down at me for the final blow.

Then, fiery-red lines spread across my body, and I disappeared in a burst of speed right before another blast hit the ground. Thrust lowered his guard, and I flew past him with a _Chidori_ raised, pieces of his side that had been torn out when I hit him trailing behind me. I turned around, making some more hand signs along the way, and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired an enormous torrent of flame out of my mouth, which caught Thrust by surprise and hit him head-on, driving him down and smashing him into the ground in a giant explosion of pure fire that sent tendrils raining through the air. I landed on the ground twenty feet away from the roaring flames, waiting to see what was about to happen.

Thrust staggered out of the fire with his hand on his side, and he was burnt and beaten in almost every part of his body. "You ready to give up yet?" I asked, my Curse Mark pumping me with power.

"Oh, not even close," he said angrily. He held out his hand in front of him, and pressed a button on his wrist. His parts that had been scattered across the battlefield from my most recent assault flew over and went into his injuries. The parts molded together, and when all was said and done, Thrust had been completely rebuilt.

"Neat trick, but it's nothing I haven't come across before," I said, flashing back to my fight with Zaku.

"Oh, I'm sure. I've done quite a bit of research on you for our fight, and I have to say, I'm impressed with your battle record. Not counting the hundreds of decepticlones you've killed, you currently stand at twenty-two wins, three losses, and six draws. And none of your opponents were any pushovers either. Your first loss against Meizu and Gouzu was simply from lack of experience, but that was your very first fight against two hardened veterans, so what else would anyone expect? And then there was your very recent loss against the Soldat Henrik Ferdinand, but that too was from lack of experience, fighting against someone of his class, and especially of his strength. You may have also lost to Sasuke Uchiha, but from what I hear, it was quite a close match."

The mention of Sasuke Uchiha made my eyes narrow in anger. "And as for your draw against Naruto Uzumaki, well, the fact that you managed to hold out against a Jinchuriki has put you in the history books. And as far as your current little mission goes, you've defeated two Decepticons, and countless decepticlones."

"What's your point, Thrust?" I asked angrily.

"My point, child, is that the Decepticons could use a fighter of your caliber. Join us. If you do, you will get everything you desire in this world and more."

"Tch, nice offer, but I think I'll pass," I said, preparing to go in again.

"Such a shame," he said disappointedly. "You could have been known across the universe." And with this, a compartment opened up on the underside of his wrist, and a button slid out and into his hand. "Well, I suppose there's only one thing left to be done, now," he said, and he pressed the button. The instant he did, his body disappeared. My eyes widened, wondering what had just happened.

_Did he retreat?_ I asked myself.

And then, blood exploded from my body.


	98. Chapter 96: The Invisible Warrior

THE INVISIBLE WARRIOR

Blood dripped to the ground, and I stood there, my eyes wide, staring down at the giant gash in my chest, running down to my stomach. My vision became blurry, and I swayed forward and dropped. My foot landed on the ground, breaking my fall, and I looked around, fighting to keep conscious. "Your defiance is truly appalling," a voice called out from nowhere. I looked in the general direction of where Thrust's voice had come from, but there was no one anywhere to be seen. And then I realized what had happened; _That bastard's invisible!_ I told myself angrily.

I leaped into the air to avoid another assault, pain ripping across my entire body. I made some hand signs and put my palm to my chest, and the wound instantly started healing. "Not so fast!" Thrust yelled, and some of his blasts shot up from out of nowhere. I disappeared in a burst of speed and came out in a tree, hidden from the battlefield. I watched the ground below, looking for any signs of Thrust, when a bullet shot past my ear. I dropped off the limb I was standing on and plummeted to the ground, and I heard a rushing sound right above me that resembled a jet engine.

I crossed my arms to defend myself, and what felt like a giant metal pipe rammed into my arms, nearly breaking them both, and I smashed into the ground. I was momentarily afraid that Thrust was going to land on me, but it became clear that that wasn't his game plan when my stomach exploded from the impact of one of his blasts, sending blood dripping to the ground below me. It took every ounce of strength I had left to rise to my feet, and a manic laughter echoed through the air. "Come on, kid!" Thrust called to me. "Tenacity is good, but I mean really! If you can't even see me, how on earth do you plan on defeating me, huh?"

"I've got a few tricks left up my sleeve," I said quietly. I could have easily used an _Earth Style: Rampart Shockwave_ to flush him out, but it would have been too easy for him to dodge. It looked like I would have to use my instincts to find his location, then hit him with everything I had before he could disappear again. And that was when the idea came to me. Before I could even move, something that resembled a metal fist landed in my stomach so hard, it made me spit out blood, and I was forced to my knees. I could only sit there, unable to move from pain, while Thrust materialized in front of me with his rifle pointing at my nose.

"This is the end for you," he said to me. And then, a barrage of blasts rained out from behind him, marauding his back and nearly putting him on his knees as well. I took the chance to fire a pair of Flashbang rockets right into his face, which sent him flying back and rolling twenty feet away. I rose back to my feet, but I was still hunched over from Thrust's fist, and I had Flashbang pointed at him once more. Thrust rose to a sitting position, and before I could stop him, he pressed the button on the switch in his hand, and he turned invisible once more. I made way for the girls as quickly as I could, but I knew I couldn't stick around for very long, otherwise Thrust would hurt them while gunning for me.

While I was running, I noticed two missiles fly out of the trees from behind me, and I immediately picked up the pace. The girls came into view, and I put on even more speed (which, in reality, really wasn't saying much giving the fact that I was far from my fullest speed). I saw the herd of Mini-Cons gathered around them, and immediately found the one I was looking for. I picked up a green one, mounted it on my wrist, turned around, and unleashed an electromagnetic pulse. The pulse disabled the missiles, and they both crashed into the ground, but didn't detonate.

"Get out of here, now," I said to the girls, and they and the Mini-Cons ran in the opposite direction. I scoured my surroundings, looking for any signs of Thrust, but he appeared to be very good at covering his tracks. I closed my eyes and focused, sharpening my senses and keeping track of every sound and smell that crossed my brain. Thrust cited my battle record at twenty-two wins, three losses, and six draws. From what I could remember off the top of my head, this seemed accurate. However, I didn't plan on letting those three losses become four.

So far, the list of people I had beaten were Hinata Hyuga (although only because she forfeited to save my life, otherwise she could have easily killed me), Koruki Matanu, Gaara, Hatsuji Korero, Koshin, Seiko Ren, Igani Mokuro, Kagona Ameko, Starscream, Orochimaru, Zaku Abumi, Kin Tsuchi, Dosu Kinuta, Cyclonus, and the Blitzleute I had defeated. And, as Thrust had stated, none of these were pushovers (well, aside from Kin; she was a pushover). I had shed plenty of blood in the past fifteen months, but no matter how hard the battles became, I never backed down, and I never gave in.

I remembered back in my fight with Hinata, when she had hit me with her _Gentle Fist Art: Protected Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms_. I had been in so much pain from that attack, not to mention the kunai in my chest, that the only thing I wanted to do was forfeit, then roll over and die. But I didn't. I continued to stand tall, and even though she could have easily killed me, I kept my cool and advanced on to the Third Exam.

I also remembered my fight with Gaara, and how he had seemed infinitely powerful with his sand manipulation jutsu. I used every ounce of power I had, but I could still only barely penetrate his defenses. It had come down to a battle of energy, until I had finally stuck a kunai in his neck (I didn't kill him, I just knocked him unconscious). Only two people had managed to wound him before that: Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. Oh yeah…Sasuke. The only person I had ever fought that had a legitimate victory over me that wasn't simply because I had no experience.

That fight was still clear to me as if it had happened yesterday; I was still bitter about the loss. The entire reason I had been so set on searching for him was not to bring him back to the Leaf Village like Naruto wanted, but because I wanted to get even with him for beating me. And then there was the effort against the decepticlones. Every moment of every battle I had fought against them pushed me further and further, and I loved every minute of it. Granted, I overreacted in my fight against Cyclonus and his lackeys, but hey, we all have our moments. And the fight with Zaku and Dosu? Those people were a bunch of zombies who couldn't be killed, and when you blew them to pieces, they came back even meaner. If I could beat them, I could beat this guy.

There was no question or debate. _I. Will. Win!_ I told myself, and chakra burst around me momentarily, before disappearing again. Something rustled the trees, and I turned around and let off Knockdown once more, disabling Thrust's cloaking shield and causing him to crash into the ground. I leaped into the air and fired Flashbang down at him, which hit him in the back and sent several pieces of his armor flying. I landed in a tree and made some hand signs, then said, "_Fire Style: Nova Flame!_" and fired a wave of flame down at him. Knockdown's effect wore off just in time, and Thrust leaped out of the way, allowing the fire to crash into the ground.

While in the air, Thrust transformed into a jet, and flew straight up into the air. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and shot up after him, activating a _Chidori_ to hit him with. Thrust came around and shot down at me, firing missiles and blasters the whole way. I continued my pursuit of Thrust, but super-sped out of the way of every single one of the blasts and missiles that came at me, until I got to Thrust and tore my _Chidori_ through his wing, severing it clean off. He transformed back into his robot mode, then fired his rifle at me, which landed in my shoulder, knocking me back, but I fired Flashbang at him before I could drop to the ground.

Thrust held out his arm and activated a shield, which blocked the rockets, and he came at me with his hand converted into a plasma sword. When he got to me, I swung another _Chidori_ at him that clashed with his plasma blade, but I was only good for a single strike before the pain in my shoulder gave way. Thrust got around my guard and slashed me in the stomach, causing blood to spatter through the air, and we both dropped towards the ground. While we dropped, I formed a _Rasengan_ and thrust it at him, but he blocked it with his plasma sword, leaving him unharmed.

He thrust his sword at me, but I managed to dodge it, and I then kicked him in the cheek, and he punched me in the side. I sent my fist at his face, but he caught it and tried to cut my arm off, but I grabbed that arm, then kicked him in the side, and that was when we smashed into the ground. Thrust's weight brought up a dust cloud around us that concealed us from one another. When the dust finally cleared, I was sitting on the ground, and Thrust was looming over me with his plasma sword pointing at my nose.

I was panting heavily, covered in blood, and unable to move. And then, Thrust was blasted with electricity, and forced to step away from me. Needles made of electricity landed in his neck, his shoulder, and his thigh, and sent more electricity coursing through his body. Finally, two dragon-shaped streams of fire shot out of the trees and crashed into Thrust, blowing him apart and sending his pieces cascading across the ground. I looked where the fire had come from, my eyes wide in shock, unable to believe someone could take out a Decepticon so easily. I saw a foot step out of the darkness, and as its owner slowly revealed himself, my eyes suddenly narrowed in anger.

"You look like something the cat dragged in, kid," said Sasuke Uchiha as he examined me.

"I've been looking for you," I said, as I rose to my feet and brushed myself off. I bent my knees and held my arm vertically, my hand aimed at the ground, and a surge of electricity flowed around it. "It's time to pay you back for that ass-kicking you handed me last month," I said to him as I prepared to charge.

"Calm down, I only came to talk," he said to me coolly.

"Oh, really?" I said to him, and I braced the _Chidori_ in my hand. "And what could you have to say…that I would possibly want to hear!?" My jutsu exploded, blasting a crater into the ground around me, and the surge converted into a ball of lightning in the palm of my hand. Sasuke disappeared in a burst of speed and came out in the trees ten feet above the ground, with me five feet away from him, my newly-formed _Chidori_ ready to rip him in two. He swiped his hand through the air, sending three _Chidori_ _Senbon_ at me that landed in my limbs, and my _Chidori_ deactivated as pain coursed through my body, but my momentum kept me coming at Sasuke.

Sasuke landed his foot in my chin, knocking me back, and he landed gracefully on the ground while I crash-landed. I rose to a kneel and threw three shuriken at him, but he blocked them with his sword. I rose to my feet, and my Curse Mark spread across my body, filling me with newfound strength. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and his Curse Mark spread across his body as well. I was right behind him with a_ Chidori_ raised, but he spun around and blocked me with his sword, which was enhanced with electricity.

"Come on, copycat, you really gotta have all the same moves as me?" he said with a leer.

"No," I answered angrily, and I held out my other hand. A purple _Rasengan_ that spiraled much more violently than the original formed. "_Arekyutai!_" A giant explosion sent dust rising above the trees in a rough line about fifty feet long. When the dust cleared almost a minute later, Sasuke stood there with his sword held out, and I stood twenty feet away from him, my hand stretched taut at him. We were both panting from the skirmish, but I had no intentions of giving in. I couldn't stand it; Thrust had beaten me. My record was now at four losses. If it hadn't been for Sasuke, I'd be dead. And this guy…he destroyed Thrust in one move, making me look like an incompetent idiot.

"Calm down!" Sasuke said calmly, but firmly. "I'm telling you, I just want to talk to you. Afterwards, you can beat me to a bloody pulp if you want to, or at least try to."

"Tch, fine, what is it?" I said, still oozing with anger.

Sasuke's eyes closed, and he seemed to be looking for the right words. Finally, he opened them up and said, "Your entire life is a lie. Your name is not Matt Withau. You are Tanzaki Uchiha, and you and I…are brothers."


	99. Chapter 97: The Truth

Four more chapters until the Season Four Finale.

* * *

THE TRUTH

"What the hell are you smoking?" I said, failing to fight the urge to crack up laughing.

Sasuke sighed irritably, as if he had known this would be my reaction. Nichi, Taylor, and Erin ran over, but all stopped cold at the sight of Sasuke. My Curse Mark receded into my neck as I started to calm down, as did Sasuke's. "Look, I don't really like repeating myself, but I'll say it once more. Your name is Tanzaki Uchiha. You are a member of the same clan as me, and you are my brother. If you'll stay calm for five seconds, I'll prove it to you." And with this, he started making hand signs, and said, "_Genjutsu: Memories Reverted!_"

My eyes widened as everything went dark, and I lost all sense of what was going on around me.

_I woke up in the middle of what looked like a small village, which was crowded with tiny buildings that had a Japanese motif to them. I looked around, and in the distance I saw a giant mountain, on which was carved four faces. And that was when I realized where I was. I had been teleported to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Although, judging by the feeling of emptiness that lurked in the air, I had to guess this was several years before the present. There were a few people walking around the section of the village I was in. _

_As I looked around at the village itself, I realized I had never been in this part of it. The buildings were mostly one-story residents of a simplistic nature, made of wood and concrete. Someone walked past me, and when I got a look at his face, my eyes widened in shock. He was a man of about thirty-five, who had a surly posture, with his hands in the pockets of his teal robe. And his face…he looked almost exactly like Sasuke, except with a couple wrinkles from age. Without my consent, my legs followed him, taking me along for the ride, and as we walked, I realized without much effort that he couldn't see me. _

_I followed him through the village, and we came in front of a rather large building. It wasn't anything very impressive, but I could tell it was important to these people. I followed the man into the building, and inside was a network of hallways, with at least two guards at post along each one. We went through the building, and five minutes later, we entered a small room. In this room sat five other people. At the back of the room was an old man wearing a white robe flowing down to his feet. He also wore a large, red hat, that was white on the front, with the kanji for 'fire' emblazoned on it. I immediately recognized him, and my eyes widened. It was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. _

_Sitting to his right was a man in his early twenties, with long, brown, well-kept hair down to his mid-back. Next to him was a man in his early forties, with spiked-up, gray hair. On the other side of Hiruzen sat a lazy-looking man in his late teens, with dark-brown hair down to the bottom of his neck, similar to mine. And next to him…"Whoa!" I said. "_

_Hello, Fugaku," said Kakashi Hatake. _

"_Good evening, Kakashi," Fugaku said respectfully. And then he looked at the Third Hokage. _

"_I felt it would only be fair to have Kakashi witness this meeting as well. He is the boy's godfather after all," Hiruzen explained. I wondered what boy they were talking about, but I guessed I would have to remain clueless. _

"_You didn't bring Mikoto, Fugaku?" the guy to the right of Hiruzen asked. _

"_My wife does not need to witness the decision to send her youngest child away, Inabi," Fugaku stated simply, and he sat down at the table with the others. _

"_So, have the members of the Uchiha clan made their decision?" Hiruzen asked. "Yes," Fugaku answered. "In light of the growing tension between the Uchiha clan and the Hidden Leaf government, we have decided that it would be better to send Tanzaki away, giving the sheer power he possesses, so if something awful were to happen in the village, he wouldn't get caught up in the middle of it," Fugaku explained. _

_It struck me as rather odd that he would bring up tensions between his clan and the government right in front of the Hokage. _

_Hiruzen sighed, and said, "Very well. Have you any place in particular in mind?" _

"_Yes," Fugaku answered. "Mikoto and I have decided to take him to the United States of America. We've been in contact with a woman who lives there. She has just divorced her husband, but she is desperately looking for a child. Maybe this way, he won't be faced with major conflict. I figure it'd be best if he never even knew about our world, otherwise, it'd put him in more danger than necessary." _

_After a moment of consideration, Hiruzen said, "Very well, then. I'm sorry it had to come to this." _

"_As am I," Fugaku agreed. "Well then, I'm off to take Tanzaki to the United States," he said, and he turned to leave. _

_Hiruzen sighed and said, "Hold on a moment, Fugaku. Let me do it. There is no reason for his parents to have to do such a task. Go home; comfort Mikoto. Give Sasuke a hug for me." _

_He stood up and walked past Fugaku, who looked after him with what seemed to be anger in his eyes. Then, once again without my consent, my legs followed the Third Hokage into the hallway. Whenever we passed one of the guards, they stood in salute to Hiruzen. When we exited the building, we walked for about fifteen minutes, before we came up to two kids playing. As soon as they saw Hiruzen, they ran right up to him. My eyes slowly widened, unable to believe what I was seeing. _

"_Hi, Third Hokage," said myself, about six years younger. _

"_Hello, there, Tanzaki," Hiruzen replied with a bright smile. _

"_Whatcha doin here, Lord Third?" said the other boy. I got another shock, as I realized it was Sasuke. _

"_Well, I'm just here to say hello to two of my favorite boys!" Hiruzen said with the same smile. "Why don't you boys give an old man a hug, eh?" he suggested, holding his arms wide. Sasuke and I made no hesitation in running into his embrace, and it seemed that nothing else could have made the Third Hokage any happier than this. Sasuke and I looked up at him with happy smiles, and he patted our heads. And right at that moment, the hand on Sasuke's head became surrounded in chakra, and Sasuke's eyes drooped, and he fell unconscious. Hiruzen caught him just before he hit the ground, and my younger version's eyes widened. _

"_What did you do to him?" I asked, watching Sasuke in Hiruzen's arm. _

"_I hope…that if the day comes when you find out your true identity, you may find it in your heart to forgive me," Hiruzen said sadly, and a tear ran down his cheek. _

"_What are you-" I said, but then, my eyes drooped as well, and I fell into his other arm. Hiruzen picked us both up, and turned around to look at something. I turned around as well, and my eyes widened once more. Someone was sitting on a wall; he looked to be about thirteen, the same age as me, and he was wearing a black t-shirt with white sweats. He had long, black hair tied behind his head in a ponytail. But he also looked exactly like Sasuke. Had he been there the whole time, I wondered. Before I could contemplate this any further, Hiruzen walked over to him with both of us in hand. The boy hopped down off the wall to meet him. _

_Hiruzen held out Sasuke's unconscious body, and the boy took him into his arms. "His memory's already been modified," Hiruzen informed the boy. _

"_Thank you, Lord Third Hokage," the boy said respectfully. _

"_When he wakes up, he will bare no memory of his younger brother having ever existed. That is what you want, right Itachi?" Hiruzen asked. _

"_Yes," Itachi answered. "The kid's going to go through enough hell as it is; there's no reason to add this to it as well." _

"_May I ask you something, Itachi?" Hiruzen said. _

"_Yes, of course," Itachi answered. _

"_Why is it that you request Tanzaki to be sent away, and not Sasuke? Both boys are your brothers," my eyes widened once more, "yet you would have Sasuke remain here, to bare the trauma that is yet to come. Why not just send them both away?" Hiruzen asked. _

_Itachi's eyes closed, and he said, "Because. I want at least one of them to live on, and be the hand that cleanses his clan free. I suppose Tanzaki would be the better choice, what with two Dokekkei-genkai going for him, but…the Rinnegan, the gift that it is, comes with its curses. He'll be targeted by shinobi everywhere from a young age. Sure, he'll grow to be more powerful than anyone alive today, but still…power isn't everything. I want my youngest sibling to grow up away from the conflicts of the shinobi world. I don't want him to have to see his friends and brothers die right before his eyes. No…it's best that he grow up far away from our world," Itachi explained. _

_Hiruzen considered this a moment, then sighed and said, "Yes, I understand your point of view. In fact, your father said precisely the same thing when we spoke earlier. Well, if there's nothing else to say, I guess I'll be leaving," Hiruzen said. _

"_Wait, _you're _taking Tanzaki to America?" Itachi asked. _

_Hiruzen nodded. _

_Itachi, realizing he was a bit out of line here, bowed and said, "Yes, of course. Please be safe. But before you go…" Hiruzen watched as Itachi set Sasuke gently against the wall and walked over to Hiruzen. He put his hand out and rubbed my forehead with a sad look. "Goodbye, little brother," Itachi said to me. "Enjoy a peaceful life." And with that, everything gradually went bright-white, like a flash-bomb, and when it faded, we were in a separate area altogether. _

_My eyes widened once more, as I realized I recognized this place. We were at the apartment complex I lived in when I was a child. Hiruzen walked up with my unconscious body in his arms, and he rang the doorbell of the apartment that I had lived in. The door opened, and a woman with brown hair down to her mid-back opened the door. She looked down at my body in Hiruzen's arms, and her eyes widened. _

"_Good evening, ma'am," said Hiruzen. _

"_Wait…are you the one that I've been in contact this whole time? You sounded so much younger on the phone," my mother, Shannon Withau, said curiously. _

_Hiruzen let out a small chuckle before saying, "No. I am the Hokage, the leader of the village you have been in contact with. At any rate, here is the boy. When he wakes up, he will have his memories completely altered, so whatever he says, you must play along." My mother nodded, and Hiruzen handed me to her. _

"_Well then, I'm going back to my village now. May you have a prosperous life," he said, and my mother nodded. The door closed, and Hiruzen sighed. Somehow, the thoughts in his mind radiated back to me, so it was as if he was saying them out loud. _How I wish it didn't have to come to this,_ he thought to himself. _If only things could have been done a little bit differently, then there needn't be such…changes._ And with that, he made a hand sign and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Once again, the scene went bright white, like a flash-bomb, and when it cleared, I was back at the present._

My eyes were wide, like a deer in headlights, and it took several minutes to comprehend what I had just seen. When I had regained my senses, I looked at Sasuke. He was looking back at me with what seemed like remorse.

"Your memories had been modified as well," I reminded him, "so how is it that you know about all this?"

"Orochimaru thought it would be a good idea to release the seal placed on my brain that alters my memories. I guess he didn't count on me leaving his hideout, blowing half of it up with me," he explained.

"Wait, what?" I said, sure I had misheard. "Did you just say you deserted Orochimaru?" I asked.

Sasuke cracked a smile at this, and he said, "Yeah. Orochimaru wanted to do to you what he tried to do to me. I couldn't let that happen to my little brother."

And then my eyes narrowed. "Now hold on just a second. How do I know that these are real? How do I know that they aren't just images you planted into my mind to make me think we're related?"

"You want proof, you say?" Sasuke said, and he made some hand signs. "_Uchiha Style: Sharingan Awakening!_"

Then, my eyes exploded in pain, and they felt like they were being gouged out of my skull. I put my hand over them and looked down, speechless at how much pain I was in. I noticed my vision had gone orange, and I looked through a hole in my fingers, my _Sharingan_ staring at the ground.


	100. Chapter 98: Uchiha

Three more chapters until the Season Four finale.

* * *

UCHIHA

I looked back up at Sasuke, my _Sharingan_ staring into his. Whereas Sasuke's had three comma-shaped dots around each pupil (known as tomoe), mine only had one. I focused my chakra, and I felt the _Sharingan_ deactivate. "If I had tried that on anyone but an Uchiha," Sasuke told me, "they would have been killed."

"Well…okay," I said, still spooked by what had just happened. "But ever since our fight, I've done some reading, and apparently the _Sharingan_ appears in the eyes of an Uchiha at a moment when it can save their life, is that right?" I asked him. Sasuke nodded. "Well then, how come it never appeared on its own? Why did it take your jutsu to force it to the surface? I've been in plenty of life-or-death situations. Hell, I could name twenty of them just in the last four days," I told him.

Sasuke pondered this for a moment before saying, "It's probably because of your dormant _Rinnegan_. The genes inherited by that jutsu probably shoved aside the ones inherited by the _Sharingan_, so that only it could appear naturally."

"Okay," I continued, "but Kakashi told me that the _Rinnegan_ would awaken at a time when it could save my life, just like the _Sharingan_. So if that's true, how come it hasn't awakened?"

"Oh is that what Kakashi told you?" Sasuke asked. "Well, in a certain context, I suppose that could be an accurate description. In reality, a _Rinnegan_ awakens in a time of great emotional distress, or when you want to save the lives of those closest to you," he explained. Well, I guessed that explained that. I had never really been in a situation where the lives of those closest to me were at stake. It was only my own that ever needed saving. And that was when another question came to me.

"So, Sasuke," I said, "what happened to the rest of the Uchiha clan? All while I was in the Leaf, I never saw anyone else from the same clan as you or…or me."

At this, Sasuke's eyes closed, and he seemed to be remembering something very painful. "I guess…" he began, "the only real way to tell the story is for you to see it in person." And with that, he said, "_Genjutsu: Memory Transfer!_" His _Sharingan_ flared, and everything went white once again.

_When it faded, I knew I was in another memory. However, instead of viewing from my perspective, I could tell I was in Sasuke's mind, and my body and brain were working for me. I was running home from the training field. "It's getting pretty late," I said, which was perfectly true. It was boring on nine o' clock. Then, a chill ran down my spine. I felt something I couldn't describe. It was like I was running, but in super-slow motion. I got the feeling I was being watched, and I looked to the top of a tall post, but there was nothing there. _What was that? I could've sworn there was someone there,_I thought. _

_Then, I noticed something very peculiar, and I looked all around me. There wasn't a single source of light in any of the buildings. "The lights. It's too early for everyone to be in bed," I said. I ran full-out in search of anyone who might know what was going on. I rounded a corner and became sure I was dreaming. A scene of pure disaster met my eyes. "What is this?" I said in shock. There were kunai and shuriken in the walls and ground everywhere, and there was destroyed property all over the place. Blood stained the walls, but I ran further on, only to stop a minute later, frozen in terror. _

_My Uncle Teyaki and Auntie Uruchi Uchiha were lying on the ground. "Uncle? Auntie?" I said. Then, a horrible, unthinkable thought came to my mind. "Oh no," I said, "Father and Mother." I ran even faster towards my house. When I got there, I opened the door, but there was no one there. "Father? Mother?" I called, praying desperately that they were still alive. I took off my shoes and searched the house. I was in the living room when I heard it. A loud banging that echoed throughout the house. Without pause, I ran full-out towards where the sound had come from. _

_When I got to where the banging had come from, I grabbed the door handles of a family gathering room. Before I made another move, there was another _bang! _"Somebody's in here," I decided. I was frozen with fear._ Move!_ I told myself. _Move! Move! _My feet were inching forward. My arms were reaching for the door-handle once more. _Move! _I slowly opened the door. "Father! Mother!" I yelled on entry. I nearly fainted at what I saw. Both my mother and my father were lying on the ground. Blood was spattered all around them. _

_Then, I heard foot steps coming from the blackness on the other side of the room. I almost ran away until I saw it. The _Sharingan _in the figure's eyes. It was Itachi. "Big brother," I said, "Father and mother are both…I don't…understand. Who could do all this?" But just then, something flew right past my shoulder, and a gash cut its way across where the thing went. It was a shuriken. "Wait a sec, what are you…?" I began. Itachi said nothing. He just stood there, gazing at me. And that was when the unthinkable came to me. "What have you done?" I said, fear mounting inside of me. "Big brother?" I pleaded. _

"_Foolish little brother," he finally said, "I almost pity you." He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he said "_Mangekyo Sharingan!_" His _Sharingan _changed. The three comet-tailed dots on the outer rim, the Tomoe Seal, grew and connected. They formed a kind of three-bladed demon wind shuriken. The same sensation as before washed over me. The feeling that everything was slowing down. Then, it felt as if time were rewinding. I saw horrible visions. Shuriken being thrown. Blood everywhere. I screamed. "Stop it! Itachi, why are you showing me all this?" Itachi just stood there, completely unfazed. _

"_Why? Why did you do this, brother?" More blood-shed. I screamed again and dropped to my knees. "Auntie! Uncle!" Next second, I was on the ground. "Why?" I said again, "Why did you do this? Itachi, why?" _

"_To test the limits…of my ability." _

"_To test your…ability? That's why you did this? You're telling me that was why…you butchered them?" I said, fear turning to anger. _

"_It is of great importance," he said. _

"_What are you saying?" I said, the anger getting worse. Then, I was overcome with a blind rage. I got up and charged Itachi. "Agh! You're out of your mind!" I yelled. When I got to him, in the blink of an eye, he put his fist in my stomach. I spat out and nearly threw up. I dropped to the ground and raised my head towards Itachi. I began to cry, the fear coming back. He stepped towards me. I got up, said, "I'm scared," and ran screaming. Itachi didn't follow. I screamed again and said, "Please, I don't wanna die!" Then, I heard movement a little ways ahead of me. I looked and saw Itachi standing about fifteen feet from me. _

"_It's a lie," I said. "This isn't like you, brother, it can't be." _

"_I have acted like the older brother you desired for one reason: because I wanted to discover how powerful you were. I needed a worthy opponent to test the limit of my own abilities. _You _have that unique potential. Now, I've made you hate me. Now you have the desire to defeat me. Which is exactly why I'm going to allow you to live. Don't you see? It's all for my own benefit. Like me, you may be one of the few who can use _Mangekyo Sharingan_." The wind blew all around him. "But there is a catch," he continued. "Take the life of your best friend. You must kill him." The wind blew everywhere now. _

"_That's…a lie," I said again. _

"_Kill him," Itachi repeated, "just like I did." _

_My eyes widened. "That was you, Itachi? You killed Shisui?" Shisui Uchiha was another member of our clan who Itachi apparently looked up to like an older brother. But then, police found a suicide note saying he threw himself in Nakano River. The note was in Shisui's handwriting, but that would have been no great feat for a wielder of the _Sharingan. _Police immediately suspected Itachi and came to our house to interrogate him, where Itachi said he didn't do it. _

"_In the main hall of Nakano Shrine, underneath the seventh totane mat from the far left, is the clan's secret gathering place. There, you will find a secret document. An explanation of the clan's jutsu. It tells of the visual jutsu's true purpose." _

What? The true purpose? _I thought. _

_Itachi smiled and said, "If you discover how to activate it, you will be the third person to obtain Mangekyo Sharingan, including myself. To ensure that happens, that's enough reason to let you live. Well, that's all," he concluded, and he turned. Thinking he was about to kill me, I gasped and backed up. "Oh, don't worry. You're not worth killin'," he sneered. "My foolish little brother. If you wish to kill me one day, live in hate and revenge. Surviving in an unsightly manner as this, by all means, flea. Cling to your wretched life. And then, one day, when you possess the same eyes, come back and face me." _

_He activated his _Mangekyo Sharingan _once more. When he did, my eyelids became heavy. I swayed forward, fell to the ground, and passed out. _

I opened my eyes, and I was back at the present time. I felt something on my cheek, and wiped it away to find that it was a tear. I was utterly speechless. I could feel through Sasuke that Itachi had been the person he admired most; there wasn't even an inkling that his older brother would betray and butcher his entire clan. Finally, I said, "Sasuke…" but that was all I could manage. When I looked into his eyes, I knew…everything he had just told me, everything I had just seen…was one hundred percent true.

"Tanzaki," he said to me, "if I had known what you were, if I had any idea you existed, I would have come for you immediately. You shouldn't have had to live your life not knowing what you truly were. I know that the Hidden Leaf was just trying to protect you, but it borders on cruelty that your life should be kept secret from you."

"Matt," said Nichi, "what's going on?" I looked at her and my cousins. I had completely forgotten they were there. And then my mind was hit with the full force of a horrible realization. Taylor and Erin…they weren't my cousins. We weren't even related. None of the people I grew up with, my mom, my dad, my sister (oh yeah, I have a sister by the way, she's five years older than me; did I forget to mention that?), none of them were even my real family. And then I started to get angry. I agreed with Sasuke; why was it that I had to be kept in the dark on the truth? Granted, if I had stayed in the Hidden Leaf, there was a pretty good chance that I wouldn't be alive right now, but still.

And that was when I became angry at something else. Itachi. Why would someone betray and butcher his entire family? The people that loved him and cared about him, the people that supported him, he killed them all. What possible reason could he have for such a horrible act? To test his power? Yeah, I like testing my metal too, but I do it against people who are trying to kill me anyways, not the people closest to me. Itachi, I don't care if he was my older brother, he had to go. Someone had to make him pay for what he did.

When I looked at Sasuke once more, I saw him eyeing me. "Will you help me?" he asked, like he was reading my mind. "Will you help me bring down Itachi Uchiha, and avenge our clan?" He held out his hand to me.

After half a second, I smiled and took it. "I'll do whatever it takes…brother."


	101. Chapter 99: Eldest

Just a heads-up, whenever Matt uses the Chidori from this point forward, he is using the Lightning Blade (meaning the lightning is concentrated into the palm of his hand) unless otherwise noted. Two more chapters until the Season Four Finale.

* * *

ELDEST

"Matt," Nichi said again. "What's going on?" I looked at her, having once more forgotten that the three of them were there.

After a moment of consideration, I went with, "Nothing. Just a chat between old friends. Although, Sasuke…" I looked at him, silently questioning him what he was doing here.

"I've come to join the four of you on your mission," he informed them.

"Yeah," I said simply.

"Um…okay then," Nichi said, sounding unsure about this decision.

"Hah, well isn't that sweet?" said someone from behind Sasuke and I. We both turned around, and our eyes widened. Standing twenty-five feet away was a man of about eighteen, who had black hair in a ponytail. He was wearing a black cloak with red clouds printed on it, and he was the spitting image of Sasuke. I knew this man's name, even though I had no memories of him.

"Itachi…" I said, "Uchiha."

"My, how you've grown, Tanzaki," Itachi said, looking me up and down. "And from what I hear, you've become quite the shinobi. I guess that dormant _Rinnegan_ of yours has been of some use to you, hasn't it?"

While he spoke, I gritted my teeth in anger. "You have some nerve," I told him. "It takes some serious balls to come here, right after I find out the truth of the Uchiha clan. Actually, speaking of which, I thought I sensed someone else watching my fight with Thrust, aside from Sasuke. I guess that was you?" I asked him.

He nodded, but before anything else was said, Sasuke pulled out his sword and charged. I made to help him, but before I even moved, Itachi grabbed Sasuke's wrist and held him there. I came around behind him with my fist raised, but Itachi kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying back, and he threw Sasuke after me. "Ouch," I said as I rubbed my head. Sasuke rose to his feet as well, and his Curse Mark spread across his body once more.

"Easy, Sasuke!" I warned him. "He just clobbered us both without breaking a sweat. If we charge in recklessly, we'll get killed," I told him.

"Yes, that's right, Sasuke. Listen to your kid brother. After all, he was always the smart one. Remember the last time we met? When you lost your head and rushed me head-on? Do you remember how I beat you savagely, and then I left you unconscious? Tell me something, Sasuke, do you remember always being weaker than me, no matter how hard you trained?"

I could tell these words pierced Sasuke deeper than any blade. He had his teeth gritted, and the look in his eyes had the intent of cold murder, but then, his posture changed. He calmed down, he rose back to his feet, and he took up a fighting position. Itachi pointed Sasuke's sword at us, but his eyes widened when I grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the blade, and sent my foot up at his face. Without hesitation, as if he had been preparing for this moment ever since he first showed up, he kicked me in the stomach once more, sending me flying back and rolling across the ground. And then, Sasuke's sword clattered to the ground right in front of me.

I looked up at Itachi, and saw that he was looking down at me with a look of superiority in his eyes. "You're gonna need that flimsy blade if you have any hope of beating me," he told us. And then, he spun around and used a kunai to block three blasts that came at him, and he then made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

"No!" I screamed as he fired the jutsu at the girls. They were all paralyzed with fear as the giant fireball approached them, but I landed in front of them with a Tiger sign weaved and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu out to combat Itachi's, and I was just barely able to hold out. "You guys, get out of here," I said to the girls.

"But-" An enormous wave of wind burst from my body, sending them all flying back. I knew I couldn't hold back on this one. The guy who was strong enough to take out the entire Uchiha clan alone was someone you couldn't make a single wrong move against, because you wouldn't get a second chance. I made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Nova Flame!_" I fired a torrent of flame at him, but he made his own hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_" A fireball that was twice as big as the original burst out of his mouth, and it blew straight past my _Nova Burst_ and raged right to me.

I disappeared in a burst of speed, and the fireball exploded, sending flames roaring twenty feet into the air. Itachi spun around and threw two shuriken up into the air, but I blocked them both with a kunai. I made some more hand signs, said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" and fired thirty fireballs down at him.

Itachi made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Wall!_" He spat out a torrent of water that took the form of a wall to intercept and extinguish the fireballs. Sasuke appeared behind him with his lightning-enhanced sword raised, but Itachi's body turned into a flock of crows, which all flew away. I landed on the ground and waited for him to show up again, but wasn't ready when a fire-kunai landed at my feet. The explosion tore through the air, causing fiery light to illuminate the area, and I appeared right next to Sasuke, who prepared to charge whenever he located Itachi.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them back up, his _Sharingan_ was active. I considered doing the same, but then I remembered Sasuke's comment; _"Come on, copycat, you really gotta have all the same moves as me?" he said with a leer._ Fact is, he was absolutely right. Both of us possessed a Curse Mark, both of us used _Chidori_, both of us used Fire Style Jutsu, and now, both of us possessed a _Sharingan_. Granted, my jutsu arsenal was a bit more expansive than his, but I really only did focus on Fire Style. Well, maybe it was about time I learned my own set of techniques, to set me apart from Sasuke.

Although that would have to be later, considering we were right in the middle of a battle. I was jarred back to reality by the realization that Itachi was right behind us, and he had the Tiger sign weaved. "_Fire Style: Explosive Gunfire Jutsu!_" His jutsu shot a small fireball from his mouth that was packed with explosive energy, and when it hit the ground between the two of us, it caused a massive explosion that sent smoke and fire thirty feet into the air. Sasuke and I both flew away from the smoke, and we both weaved the exact same hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" We both fired a fireball down into the smoke, which was blown aside to reveal Itachi, having once more already weaved the Tiger sign. "_Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_" He fired another massive fireball up at us, which blew away both of our own. We let it fly in between us, but Itachi made another Tiger sign and said, "_Fire Style Ninja Art: Blaze Rupture!_" The _Great Fireball_ exploded with the force of several dozen pounds of C4, and Sasuke and I were both sent flying in opposite directions. I crashed to the ground, and when I regained my senses, I rubbed my head in agony.

"Come on! Is there any end to this guy's jutsu?" I asked myself as I looked back at Itachi. He was glaring right at me with cold emptiness in his eyes, showing that he cared nothing that I knew the truth about my past, or what had happened to the Uchiha clan at his hand. "Okay," I said as I rose back to my feet. "I'm gonna make this real simple for ya." Chakra poured out of the bottoms of my feet, but I stayed in place. "I don't know what went wrong in your head that made you decide it would be a good idea to slaughter your family, but I got news for you. It's gonna take a miracle for you to get out of this fight."

And with that, I shot at him at the speed of a bullet. Itachi sent his fist at me, and before I could even react, he landed it square in my face, knocking me senseless and making me feel like a complete idiot. "Oh, is that a fact?" Itachi said to me as he looked into my eyes.

"Well that worked well," I said, my words smothered by his fist.

"Well, I don't think you quite know who you're dealing with, so maybe I should show you," Itachi said to me. And that was when he was blasted with electricity, and he disappeared in a puff of smoke…a _Shadow Clone_. Sasuke landed in front of me and helped me back to my feet.

"Did he get you?" he asked urgently.

"No," I answered, although not exactly sure what he was talking about.

"Good," Sasuke said to me. "Listen, stay out of his grasp. If he gets his hands on you, you're finished."

"Understood," I said, and I prepared to fight some more. "_Fire Style!_" Our eyes widened, as we had no idea that Itachi was behind us. "_Fireball Jutsu!_"

He fired his fireball out at us, but I spun around, making hand signs along the way, and I said, "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I fired off several balls of water at the fireball, which was extinguished, and left a trail of steam rising up from the ground. "_Fire Style_ and _Water Style_, eh?" said Itachi from right behind me. "It looks like you've been making good use of that _Rinnegan_."

I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Giant Air Shield!_" Itachi leaped back just before my _Giant Air Shield _eruptedinto existence, and I spun around, made some more hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired out my jutsu, which was caught in the wind, and turned into a giant wave that flew at Itachi.

Still in the air, Itachi made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Horn!_" He spat a jet of water from his mouth, which hit the fireball, blew right through it, and came right at me.

I made some hand signs, bent down, slammed my palm on the ground, and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Shield!_" A wall of earth sprang up out of the ground to protect me, and the _Water Horn_ ran right into it, but didn't penetrate it.

"Okay, let's see your _Lightning Style_," Itachi said with a smile.

"Okay," I said from right behind him with a _Chidori_ raised. Itachi sent his foot back, but I blocked it, got around his guard, and slashed him across the chest. He turned into a log that was cut almost in two, and I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and flew out of the way of a brigade of shuriken that flew up at me from the ground.

Sasuke had a _Chidori_ going in his hand, and he said, "_Chidori Sharp Spear!_" He thrust his arm forward and shot a circuit of electricity into the bushes where the shuriken had come from. As soon as the _Sharp Spear_ hit, Itachi appeared right next to it and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" He fired thirty tiny fireballs at Sasuke, who leaped out of the way, and formed another _Chidori _in his hand.

"_Chidori Senbon!_" He fired a wave of electric needles down at Itachi, who smiled as he made some more hand signs. Then, a thump made his eyes widen, and he turned into a flock of crows again and was gone. I was standing right behind him with another _Chidori_ in my hand, and I watched the birds fly up and converge twenty feet from the ground. Itachi reformed, and he was smiling down at me once more.

Then, his grin disappeared, and he turned around to see Sasuke flying up at him with a _Chidori _raised. Itachi turned into a flock of crows once more when Sasuke busted right through him, and Sasuke landed on the ground right next to me. We watched as Itachi reformed twenty feet away from us, and my eyes widened as I saw his eyes. His _Sharingan_ wasn't normal; it was like a pinwheel with three curved pins. As I looked into his eyes, I felt time slow down around me, and I became dizzy.

"What…is this?" I asked, rubbing my head.

"This," Itachi said to me, "is the _Mangekyo Sharingan_."


	102. Chapter 100: One Man Down

One more chapter until the Season Four Finale.

* * *

ONE MAN DOWN

"What…is this?" I asked, rubbing my head.

"This," Itachi said to me, "is the _Mangekyo Sharingan_."

"The…what? _Kaleidoscope Sharingan_?" I said, translating the Japanese without even realizing it.

"Yes," Itachi answered.

"Tanzaki!" Sasuke yelled in horror. But I only barely heard him, as if he were on the other side of a thick wall.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] "It's too late," Itachi said to me. I glared at him in anger, preparing to rip him in half. "He's already in the _Tsukuyomi_," he informed me, "and he's going to stay there until you and I finish this battle." I noticed that his _Mangekyo Sharingan _was no longer active, and he was staring at me with a regular _Sharingan_. I rose to my feet and formed a _Chidori_, then prepared to charge in.

"Well, let's do it," I said angrily. Itachi smiled, and he made some hand signs. I grabbed my sword with my _Chidori_-enhanced hand, and the blade became surrounded in lightning as I charged Itachi.

He sucked in his breath and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

"_Chidori Armor!_" My entire body became surrounded in a circuit of electricity, and I charged straight into the fireball. Itachi leaped out of the way just as I came out of the root of the fireball, completely unharmed, and I shot up after him with my sword raised. Itachi threw two shuriken down at me, but I blocked them both with my sword, and closed the gap between us. I rammed my sword into his gut, running him through completely, and leaving him with his eyes wide.

"You ready to stop playing games?" I said to him. He disappeared in a puff of smoke, and I landed on the ground. I thrust my sword behind me, running Itachi through again, but this time, he turned into a flock of crows and was gone. Two more clones of Itachi shot down from the trees at me, but I slashed them both, making them both turn into flocks of crows. "Are you really gonna make me hunt you?" I called out, preparing to leap into the trees. I heard footsteps behind me, and turned around to see Itachi standing there, looking at me with a grin on his face.

I could tell with my _Sharingan_ that this was the real one, and I prepared to charge him once more. "_Fire Style!_" he said suddenly, "_Minefield Eruption!_" The ground under me exploded with the force of a fiery explosion, and I was sent flying through the air. I landed twenty feet away with burns all over me, but I rose back to my feet nonetheless and prepared to go in again. Itachi stepped through the flames roaring out of the ground as if they weren't even there, and he was looking at me with the same superior grin that he had been leering at me with through this entire fight.

I made four hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_"

I fired an intense stream of flame out of my mouth at him, but he made the same hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" His fire stream, which was every bit as strong as mine, intercepted my attack, and we were both caught in a beam fight. We both kept our jutsu going, unwilling to let the other one win out, until Itachi made some more hand signs. "_Water Style: Water Fang Bullet!_" I waited to see what would happen, when three spiraling tubes of water shot out of the trees from the Mississippi River and came right at me. They spiraled around my _Dragon Flame_, extinguishing it, and the _Water Fang Bullets_ crashed into me, quickly followed by Itachi's _Dragon Flame_.

The two together caused a massive explosion that sent smoke, steam, and rubble flying thirty feet into the air. I flew out of the cloud and smashed into a tree, causing it to fall down on top of me. I used a _Chidori_ to sever it in two, freeing myself, and I rose to my feet in a slouch from pain. "Come on, Sasuke," Itachi said from right behind me. I turned around, but was too slow for his _Great Fireball Jutsu_ that smashed into me, causing another explosion that sent me flying once more, and when I landed, I couldn't get back up. "Don't you want to defeat me?" he asked.

I looked up at him through half-opened eyes, unable to move for the pain. "Well, you can't possibly hope to accomplish such a goal with the level of power you possess now. It's as I said back then, only when you possess the _Mangekyo_ like I do, only then will you be able to defeat me."

"We'll see about that," I growled as I rose back to my feet. Itachi made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball-_"

"_Phoenix Flower!_" Without making a single hand sign, I fired ten fireballs out of my mouth at Itachi, who was forced to leap out of the way. While he was still in the air, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" This time, I fired forty fireballs out of my mouth up at Itachi, who once more turned into a flock of crows and was gone. "Come on, don't you know any other tricks?" I said as I watched him reform, sitting in a tree.

"Well, these tricks have been working so far," Itachi said, again with the grin. Then, his eyes widened, and I was flying at him with a _Chidori_ raised. He caught my wrist, kicked me in the stomach, and let me drop to the ground. He got to his feet and made some hand signs, then said, "_Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_" He fired another massive fireball down at me, but I rolled out of the way just as it crashed into the ground.

"_Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bombs!_" I fired five concentrated balls of fire out of my mouth up at Itachi, who hopped down to evade them, and they all went crashing through the tree branches. I got to a kneel and pulled out my sword, which became surrounded in electricity, and I charged Itachi. Itachi pulled out a kunai to defend himself, and I rammed my sword into it, the electricity slowly cleaving through his blade. Finally, the blade of his knife went flying off, and I made to cut him in half, but he leapt out of the way. While he flew through the air, he made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

He fired his fireball down at me, but I held my hand out, and it became surrounded in a _Chidori_. "_Chidori Senbon!_" I swiped my hand through the air, and a wave of needles shot from it, dispersing the fireball and stabbing Itachi about twenty times. I watched with my _Sharingan_ as he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and I looked behind me to see him two feet away with a kunai raised. I spun around completely and thrust another _Chidori_ at him, this time having taken the form of a ball of lightning, but Itachi ducked it, spun around, and put his foot in my chin, sending me flying up into the air.

I quickly regained myself as Itachi appeared right in front of me with his _Mangekyo Sharingan_ active. I instinctively closed my eyes, which left Itachi wide open to kick me in the stomach, sending me flying down and smashing into the ground. I climbed out of the crater I was in just as Itachi landed on the ground, and I came to a kneel, glaring right at him. His _Mangekyo_ wasn't active anymore, which meant I had a clear shot. "What are you looking at?" Itachi asked from right behind me. I looked behind me just in time to see him thrust his fist at me, and I was sent flying, then rolling across the ground.

I was back on my feet before I even stopped rolling, and I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu out at him, but Itachi simply leaped out of the way, then came down on top of me with his fist raised. I just barely managed to catch it, but Itachi kicked me in the stomach, causing me to drop my guard, and he landed on the ground, then tripped me up. I landed painfully on the ground, and I looked up to see Itachi making some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" His jutsu hit me directly, but the flames were blown in every direction, causing Itachi to leap back. He shielded his face from the embers, and the flames cleared to reveal me on one knee, my Curse Mark active. I had a purple _Chidori_ active, and their was a circuit of purple electricity flowing around my entire body. I charged Itachi directly, but he leaped back to evade me. I shot up after him, far faster than he could evade, but he made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_"

The jet of flame hit me head-on, but I appeared behind Itachi with my _Chidori_ still active. Purple electricity shot through the air, and we both landed on the ground, twenty feet away from each other, facing opposite directions. Blood exploded from Itachi's body, and he swayed in place, and I turned around to watch him suffer. I pulled my sword back out and walked over to him to finish it once and for all, but Itachi spun around with a Tiger sign weaved, and said, "_Fire Style: Explosive Gunfire Jutsu!_" He fired a small fireball packed with explosive energy, and before I could react, it smashed into me, causing a giant explosion to rise thirty feet in the air.

[Matt's point-of-view] I was walking through the Hidden Leaf Village, wondering how I had gotten here. I distinctly remembered being in a battle, but I couldn't remember who it was with. Although, what struck me as rather odd about the village at the moment was the fact that there were no people around. The place was a ghost town. And then, a building thirty feet in front of me exploded to make way for an arm made entirely of red chakra to shoot out, and it rammed into me and smashed me into the building behind me. When the dust cleared and I got over the shock, I looked into the destruction of the other building, and my eyes widened.

The dust cleared to reveal Naruto there, standing on all fours, glaring at me through red, slitted eyes. He was surrounded in an aura of red charka, which had fox ears coming out of the top. Naruto was glaring at me, growling like some kind of wild animal. "Naruto, what are you doing!?" I said urgently. Without answering, Naruto shot at me with the speed of a cannonball, but I disappeared just before he rammed into the building I had been laying in. I reappeared twenty feet behind Naruto and pulled out two kunai.

"Wake up, Naruto, it's me!" I said to him. Naruto turned around to face me, but it didn't look like I had reached him, as he was still glaring at me with the Nine-Tailed Fox's eyes. Naruto fired another chakra arm at me, but I managed to leap out of the way. The chakra came up after me, and I knew I was in trouble. It rammed into me, drove me across the village, and smashed me into the ground, driving me through four buildings and sending dust fifty feet into the air. When the dust cleared, I was in too much pain to move. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

I opened my eyes just in time to see a fireball coming down on top of me, and it smashed into the ground, causing smoke and flames to rise into the air. I appeared on the roof of a building, looking to see who had attacked me. "_Lava Style: Volcano Pit!_" A stream of lava flowed across the ground towards the building I was standing on, and I leaped out of the way just before the entire thing collapsed. While in the air, someone appeared right in front of me with a malicious grin on his face.

"Hatsuji!" I said angrily.

"_Fire Style: Pyrofists!_" He thrust his fire-shrouded hand down at me, and I crossed my arms to block it, but his strength sent me flying down and smashing into the ground. When the dust from the impact cleared, I was on my feet and glaring at Hatsuji.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I'm here to take my revenge," he said to me with the same malicious grin. I heard something coming from the ground right underneath me, and I leaped out of the way just before a red chakra arm burst up, flying straight into the air. I landed on the roof of another building, while yet another building exploded to make way for Naruto to lurk out. Then, the building I was currently standing on exploded as torrents of sand shot up out of the ground. I flipped through the air and landed on the ground, and Gaara was standing on a building fifty feet away, his sand flowing around him.

I heard someone appear behind me, and I spun around and knocked Koruki Matanu's kunai away, then leaped into the air before she could attack me again. I landed on the roof of another building and heard someone appear from right behind me. I spun around to see Hinata Hyuga swing her chakra-enhanced hand around at me, but I blocked it with my arm, and said, "Didn't we agree to be friends!?" Instead of answering, she thrust her other palm at my stomach, but I leaped back and landed at the edge of the building. "_Wind Style: Gust Wave!_" A wave of wind traveling across the ground caused my building to collapse, but I leaped out of the way and landed on another one.

Masuta Tatsumaki appeared behind me with his fist raised, but I sent my foot at him, making him leap out of the way. I leaped out of the way just as a giant snake smashed into this building, decimating it completely. I landed on the ground just as the sixty-foot-long python reared its head and flicked its tongue at me. Standing on top of it was Orochimaru, with a grin similar to Hatsuji's. "_Slicing Sound Wave!_"

"This is getting annoying," I said as I turned to my left and slammed my palm on the ground, causing a _Terra Shield_ to rise up. The _Slicing Sound Wave_ smashed into it, blowing it apart, but when the dust cleared, I was gone. Zaku lowered his hands and looked around for me, but I was already far away from the battlefield, as in almost-to-the-other-side-of-the-village-far. That was until Dosu appeared right in front of me and swiped his fist at me. I blocked it with my arm, but his gauntlet caused an explosion that blew me ten feet away from him. I got back to my feet just in time to be blindsided by a wave of sonic from above.

"Okay!" I said irritably, looking up to see who it was this time. Mikuro Otoma was hovering in the air, grinning down at me. Just then, a vine sprouted up out of the ground and wrapped around my ankle, leaving me vulnerable for a _Fireball Jutsu_ to crash into me. I flew out of the smoke and landed on the ground to see Igani Mokuro and Kagona Ameko looking at me. One by one, Naruto, Hatsuji, Orochimaru, Hinata, Gaara, Koruki, Masuta, and Zaku appeared on the buildings around me, all grinning down at me. I heard an engine roaring in the distance, and I turned around to see a red jet flying towards us, and it fired six missiles. "Oh, dear," I said simply.

A line of explosions sent smoke and rubble flying thirty feet into the air in a sixty-foot line. When the chaos finally settled, I was hiding in one of the few buildings in the area still standing. That was until it was attacked by machine gun bullets, and I was forced to dive to the ground. I looked out of the window to see a purple helicopter hovering overhead. The wall across from me was blown apart, and Thrust walked in armed with his rifle. I got back to my feet, and he waited for me to make a move. I charged him head-on, and then stuck my foot out to slide straight under him, leaving him to look after me from under his legs.

I got back to my feet and backed away from him, and I heard two thuds. I turned around to see Starscream and Cyclonus both pointing blasters at me. I looked around at everyone I had ever fought, save for Sasuke, the nameless genin from the Chunin Exams, Team Seiko, and the Blitzleute, and wondered what in the world was going on. And that was when I remembered. I flashed back to the fight with Itachi alongside Sasuke, and how he had used his _Mangekyo Sharingan_ on me. Then that must have meant… "This is a genjutsu," I said to myself.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] The smoke from the explosion cleared, and I was on one knee, in too much pain to fight back. Itachi walked over to me with a kunai raised, and I knew that this was it for me. Itachi then looked up, and his eyes widened just as ten fireballs as big as a humans rained down on him, and he was engulfed in a line of smoke. He leaped out and landed ten feet behind the dust cloud, and looked into it. When the dust cleared, Tanzaki was standing in front of me, glaring at Itachi. "Did you forget there's two of us?" he asked.


	103. Chapter 101: The Man With Blood in hi

Season Four finale

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THE MAN WITH BLOOD IN HIS EYES

[Matt's point-of-view] "Sasuke, can you still fight?" I asked him.

"Yeah, but not for much longer," he answered as he rose to his feet.

"It's pointless," Itachi informed us. "The two of you are simply not enough to defeat me."

"We'll see about that," I said as I pulled out a kunai. Sasuke wielded his sword, and we both charged in.

As we came at him, Itachi made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" We both disappeared in bursts of speed as the fireball flew by, and Itachi leaped into the air just as I appeared behind him. Sasuke came at him with his lightning-enhanced sword raised, but Itachi threw two shuriken down at him. Sasuke managed to block them with his sword, but Itachi made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_"

"_Chidori Sharp Spear!_" Before Itachi could even get his jutsu out, Sasuke fired a circuit of electricity at him. Itachi flashed a small smile just before he was impaled in the gut. He disappeared in a flock of crows, and Sasuke landed on the ground. We both got back-to-back so Itachi couldn't take us from behind, and his crows converged thirty feet away from us. He reformed, and he was grinning at us with his _Sharingan_ active.

"I'm getting really tired of that stupid smile," I said to him as we both prepared to charge in.

"Don't worry," Itachi responded, "it'll be the last one you ever see."

Sasuke's and my eyes widened as Itachi appeared behind us with a Tiger sign weaved. "_Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_" It came too fast for us to dodge, and we could only watch as it crashed into us. The smoke from the impact rose into the air, and when it died down, Sasuke and I were both on the ground, lying in a crater. Sasuke was the first to rise, and I quickly followed.

"Okay, this guy has to be running out of chakra by now," I said hopefully.

"I wouldn't count on it," Sasuke said as he looked around for Itachi.

"_Fire Style: Explosive Gunfire Jutsu!_"

"_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I fired six balls of water straight up into the air, and one of them intercepted and extinguished the _Explosive Gunfire_, while the other five shot up at Itachi.

"_Chidori Senbon!_" Sasuke fired five electric needles, and all of them landed in the _Liquid Bullets_, causing them to flow with electricity.

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired five tiny fireballs up as well, and they all hit the _Liquid Bullets_ the instant before they hit Itachi, and the fire reacted with the lightning, causing an explosion that shrouded Itachi in smoke.

"You're finally using teamwork." Sasuke and I both turned around to see Itachi standing ten feet away from us. "And a _Genso no Haigo_, an elemental combination, no that up, and you might actually be able to beat me," he said to us. My Curse Mark flared, and the lines spread across my body, filling me with extra power. Sasuke's Curse Mark flared as well, and we both prepared to charge in. Itachi leaped into the air as we both appeared where he had been standing, and we shot up after him.

We both had a _Chidori_ active, but Itachi was more than ready for us as he made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

"_Chidori Senbon!_" The wave of needles that Sasuke fired from his hand dispersed the fireball, and we both continued coming at him. Time seemed to slow down as we approached Itachi, who raised his arms to defend himself, and he grabbed our wrists, then threw us behind him. Sasuke and I both smashed our _Chidoris_ into the ground to break our fall, and when the dust from the impact cleared, we were kneeling in the middle of two giant craters. Itachi landed on the ground with his back to us, and he spun around and threw half a dozen shuriken at each of us.

I threw some kunai to knock the ones coming at me out of the air, and Sasuke blocked his with his sword. We both shot at Itachi, but he disappeared just before we got to him. "Great, where'd he run off to?" I asked as I looked around for him.

"Looking for someone?" Sasuke and I both turned around to see Itachi sitting in a tree, looking down at us.

"This guy…is really starting to get on my nerves," I said.

"Yeah, try having your memories," Sasuke replied.

That…was a very good point. I may know the truth about my past, but I didn't know much else. I didn't have any memories of the kinds of things I did as a kid, what kind of people I met, or who my family members were. I barely knew my dad, and I didn't know my mom at all, aside from her name. Fugaku and Mikoto…those were the names of my true parents. As far as I had been concerned up until about a half-hour ago, those names were Shannon and Chris Withau. But I would have to dwell on that later, as Itachi made a sequence of hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_" "That trick's getting old," I said from right behind him with a smile. I swung my _Chidori_ at him, and the impact destroyed the tree he was sitting in and sent the remains crashing to the ground. Itachi landed twenty feet away from the wreckage to find Sasuke behind him with his lightning-enhanced sword raised. Itachi spun around and caught him by the wrist, but Sasuke was more than ready for him as he swung his foot up and sent it at Itachi's chest. Itachi blocked it with his forearm, but the impact forced him to release Sasuke, who landed on the ground and immediately charged Itachi with his sword raised.

Itachi made some more hand signs, but before he could fire off his _Fireball Jutsu_, I came up behind him and wrapped my left arm around his, and my right arm around his neck. I held him there while Sasuke raised his sword, but I heard Itachi utter a soft laugh, and he disappeared in another flock of crows. "I don't suppose you have a giant birdcage handy, do you?" I asked Sasuke.

"No, although I have a better idea," he said thoughtfully. He held out his hand and formed a surge of lightning around it. The crows were currently circling us, leaving me wondering what either of them were about to do. He held up his _Chidori_ over his head and said, "_Chidori Circuit Field!_" A dozen circuits of lightning shot in every direction from the _Chidori_, which then branched out like a tree to pierce every single one of the crows, which then dropped to the ground.

"Nice," I said as I looked at him with a wide jaw.

"Yeah, too bad I just wasted a whole lot of chakra for nothing," he responded while panting. I looked around, and all of the crows disappeared into thin air. My eyes widened, and I spun around, blocking two shuriken with a kunai. Itachi was standing in another tree, but this time he wasn't smiling. He was eyeing Sasuke, and from what I could tell, he seemed to be impressed. Granted, the guy did wipe the concrete with my face, so I always knew he was strong, but I had to say; that _Chidori Circuit Field_ was an impressive creation, especially for having come up with it right on the spot.

"Hey," I said to him, "what do you say we put this guy in the ground once and for all?" Sasuke looked at me and smiled, then said,

"Let's do this." We both formed _Chidoris_, and Itachi braced for us to come. He disappeared in a burst of speed and came out forty feet in the air, with us on either side of him. He caught us by the wrists, but we swung our legs around and cut him across the stomach, forcing him to release us, and we swung our _Chidoris_ around once more. A giant arc of lighting tore through the air, and the three of us dropped to the ground, Itachi slouched over with his hand wrapped around his opposite shoulder. Blood was dripping from the gash we had put there, and Itachi was panting in pain.

Then, his _Sharingan_ shifted to the _Mangekyo_, and I instinctively looked to just below his eyes. "_Sharingan Style: Dream Realm!_" A wave of purple exploded outward from his body, and before either of us could react, we were both caught in it. Time slowed down, and my movements became impaired, as if I were moving through water. I tried to make some hand signs, but before I could blink Itachi was right in front of me, and he put his fist in my stomach. I dropped off my feet and hung on his arm, and Sasuke threw some shuriken at him in slow-motion. Itachi turned around casually, leaving me to drop to the ground, and he effortlessly caught the shuriken.

He threw them back, and this time they traveled much faster. Sasuke tried to dodge them, but they both landed in his shoulder, knocking him off his feet. I got back to my feet and swung my fist, but Itachi's kick sent me flying back. Before I even had the luxury of landing, he fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ that hit me head-on and drove me through the trees. An explosion sent me flying and bouncing across the beach of the Mississippi, and I landed at the edge of the river, dousing my burning clothes. I had some minor burns, but they were nothing compared to damage I had suffered in the past, and I started making hand signs for _Chidori_.

My eyes widened as Itachi stood right in front of me with his fist in my stomach, and this time I coughed up blood before I dropped. Itachi mercilessly kicked me as hard as he could, sending me flying across the river, and I landed right in the middle of it, being dragged away by the current. I was in so much pain I could only barely register that the currents were dragging me below the surface, and I couldn't move let alone keep myself from drowning. I told myself that this was it, that in a matter of minutes I would black out and be gone. And that was when I saw a black form approaching me through the murky water. Before I could see who it was, I fell under.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] I was just getting back to my feet when Itachi appeared five feet in front of me. "Where is he?" I grunted.

"Tanzaki?" he asked curiously. "Giving the currents, probably drowned by now."

My eyes widened in horror, and I made to attack him, but I was sent flying away and smashing through trees. When I finally came to a stop, I realized that the _Dream Realm_ had ceased. Itachi walked over, but I was in too much pain to move. "Sasuke," he said to me. I chanced a look at his eyes, and saw that they were their original inky-black, just like mine.

"Heed these words. I don't think you understand how much stronger you've gotten since last time. While suffice it to say I regret the majority of your newfound strength is at the hand of Orochimaru, power is power. And while I know full well what goal this power is going towards, know that I am truly astounded at your growth. As your brother, I want to say that I couldn't be more proud of you. But as your enemy, I want to say that our final battle is drawing near. Take care of our little brother. He has potential beyond imagination. Please don't let it fall into the wrong hands."

I had no idea what to say, but I was saved by Itachi disappearing. I got to my feet and stumbled to the Mississippi River, where I found Tanzaki laying on the bank. He was just barely conscious, and he smiled slightly when he saw me coming. His friend Nichi was watching me as well as I walked over, both of them soaking wet, and I dropped next to him. We looked in each other's eyes, and she said, "Who are you?"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I'm a…friend of his. Sort of. I'll let him explain to you the rest. How is he?" I asked.

"He'll live," she answered as she looked back down at him. I couldn't help but smile as I realized her feelings for him. Tanzaki groaned quietly as he raised his hand. He pointed his finger at Nichi, then flicked it back towards him, gesturing for her to lean closer.

She did so, and he whispered, "That was freakin' stupid."

She smiled and said, "Yeah…he'll be fine."

"Where's Itachi?" Tanzaki asked me, his voice back to normal.

"He's gone," I answered.

He must have sensed the resentment in my voice, because he said, "We'll get him." The sun was just about to set on the horizon, and night would fall.

"Hey, weren't there two more with you?" I asked Nichi.

Before she could answer, "Nichi!" The other two, Taylor and Erin I think, ran over, but they stopped with wide eyes as they saw me.

"It's okay, he's one of Matt's friends," Nichi assured them with a smile. This seemed to convince them, and they walked over as they examined all of my injuries. Before Nichi could stop him, Tanzaki rose to a sitting position, equally as bloody as me.

"What the hell happened to you?" Erin asked.

"Uh…I got in a fight," he answered stupidly. Taylor and Erin both folded their arms as they glared at him.

"Uh, look, night's going to fall soon, and it's been a long day. Sasuke's joined us now, and he's going to help us fight the decepticlones, but for now, let's get some sleep," Tanzaki said hastily. With that, the five of us went to sleep.

[Matt's point-of-view] We all woke up the next morning and prepared to move out. "Do you have any idea where Itachi ran off to?" I asked Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head and said, "No. But I will find him."

"_We_ will find him," I corrected him. He couldn't help but smile.

We heard rustling in the bushes, and looked over to see Naruto Uzumaki burst out. "Matt!" he said in a panic. And then he saw Sasuke. His face fell to an angry glare, which Sasuke mirrored, and the two simply stood there and stared at each other.

* * *

I want to start off with the standard thank you to everyone who has read this story up to this point. You guys are the reason that I continue to do this. I also want to inform you, because I feel like my life could be in danger if I don't (exaggeration, kinda), that while Nichi's name is based off a friend of mine, her personality is _not_. Actually, the two aren't alike even a little bit. Moving on. Starting this season this story has received huge amounts of criticism for missing elements that are vital to a story. I want to address all of these saying that I know the story, especially in its first few seasons, sucks. I know that Masashi would probably be ashamed if he read this. What I also want to say is that while this story is bad, I'm not stupid. Some of the stuff I've done I've done on purpose in order to foreshadow events that take place later in the story. If it seems like something doesn't make sense, that's probably why.

Now, onto the change in the story itself. Upon introducing this new faction of the Decepticlones (which are based off the 2004 Transformers video game, go buy it), my reader count for each consecutive month dropped by about two hundred. I can only assume that this means that people don't approve of the new direction the story is taking. To those of you that have stuck with it, if for nothing more than in hopes that it would get better, thank you...again. As for the new 'plot twist' that took place between Matt and Sasuke, yeah, I know I'm gonna take some huge hits for that. What I will say is that it doesn't take much precedence in the story from here on out (unless people want it too, in which case I'll probably tweek the storyline a little bit). I'm hoping the people that continue reading this will find some form of enjoyment in future chapters, and I hope that my writing will improve enough to satisfy a broader spectrum of audience. Season Five will begin on April 20, so hopefully you guys will come back to this story on that day. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and have an awesome Spring Break!


	104. Chapter 102: Allies

Season Five Premiere

* * *

ALLIES

_(Previously)_ "Hey, Taylor. Hello, Erin," I said to my cousins.

"DuBray Middle School is a cover; this is the headquarters for the Supernatural Investigative Service."

On the T.V. screen, a giant green ship was blown to smithereens by an even larger purple ship.

"That's the Decepticlone Army," I said in disbelief.

The three of us headed towards the woods.

Erin fired her blaster, destroying a light unit.

Six medium units jumped out of the drop ship and pointed their blasters at us.

A building exploded to make way for a ten-foot-tall robot. I kneeled down to an orb of bright yellow light.

A jet flew in, then transformed into a robot, who said, "I'll be taking that Mini-Con now."

I fired a pair of rockets at Starscream.

A four-legged robot fired EMPs at me.

I ran into the entrance of the store and said, "Whoa!" Nichi was standing there, checking to make sure Erin wasn't hurt.

"Screw this, I'm done. You all have fun without me," I said, and I walked off.

Nichi fired Flashbang at the shockmace.

Erin was holding the shockmace's staff, the blade of which had grazed her palm and her side.

The flames cleared to reveal Orochimaru atop a giant boa, leering down at me.

I was kneeled down to the ground, my body engulfed in purple chakra.

"_Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Resurrection!_" Out of Orochimaru's summoning appeared Dosu, Zaku, and Kin.

Nichi was blasted back and slammed into a tree.

I rose to my feet, my hand covered in rock.

"_Lion's Barrage!_" I kicked Zaku into a tripwire trap, which completely immobilized him.

I rammed my purple _Chidori_ into Dosu.

Five serges landed next to Cyclonus.

I formed two _Chidoris_ and hacked off the arm of one of them.

"_Fire Style: Flame of the Phoenix!_" My jutsu completely obliterated Cyclonus.

Thrust pointed his rifle down at my nose, but was then blown to pieces. Sasuke Uchiha walked out of the woods.

"You are Tanzaki Uchiha, and you and I…are brothers," he told me.

"_Sharingan Style: Dream Realm!_" said Itachi Uchiha.

"Sasuke, as your brother, I want to say I couldn't be more proud of you."

The five of us prepared to move out, when Naruto Uzumaki burst out of the underbrush yelling, "Matt!" Naruto and Sasuke both simply stood and glared at each other.

(_Currently)_ I watched Naruto and Sasuke, unsure if I should try and ease the tension, or grab the girls and get out as fast as I could. Finally, I said, "Easy, Naruto. Believe it or not, he's on our side. He's been helping me with a mission I've been on."

After a moment, Naruto said, "I know."

"Wait, what? You know? How could you know?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Grandma Tsunade told me everything. I know that Sasuke has been helping you, and I also know that your true name isn't Matt Withau. I know that Sasuke is your brother, and I know that when you were little you had your memories wiped clean and you were brought to America. But what I don't know, Matt, is why the hell you would agree to team up with him after what he did to you."

At first, I could only stand there with my eyes wide, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"I guess you wouldn't understand, considering you've never had a sibling," said Sasuke.

That was when Naruto trained his glare back on him.

"Uh, Sasuke," I said warningly.

"Look," he said, "I don't really feel like fighting you, Naruto, but if you're feeling frisky, then by all means." He finished by activating his _Sharingan_, and he put his hand on the handle of his sword.

Naruto glared at him for several seconds before saying, "Tch, believe me, I would love to lay you flat. Unfortunately, I'm under strict orders to bring you all back to the Hidden Leaf. Unharmed."

"What for?" I asked. "The Decepticlones are mounting an invasion against the Hidden Leaf," he informed us.

My eyes widened, and even Sasuke, who hadn't seen his home in two years seemed disturbed by this. "When are they coming?" I asked.

"Grandma says they should be there in two hours," Naruto answered.

"Well let's get going," I said to Naruto.

"You coming, Sasuke?" I asked him.

He looked uncertain at first, but then he said, "I guess I might as well."

Naruto glared at him as we all made hand signs.

"Uh," Nichi said.

"Oh," I said guiltily, having completely forgotten about them once again. "Everyone, get the Mini-Cons," I said, and Flashbang, Safeguard, and Discord walked over to me while the other Mini-Cons were distributed evenly among the girls. "Alright, the three of you grab hold of us," I told them.

"Uh, okay, why?" Taylor asked.

I sighed, knowing this was going to be difficult, and I said, "I'll explain everything later."

Nichi immediately grabbed my arm, while Taylor put her hand on Naruto's shoulder, and Erin grabbed Sasuke's wrist. The three of us all made the same hand sign and disappeared in puffs of smoke.

The six of us appeared right outside the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and Naruto, Sasuke and I ran straight for the Hokage's mansion while the girls tentatively followed us. When we arrived at the mansion, the two Leaf ninja guarding the entrance stepped aside to let the six of us through, and we all ran up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, and came to a stop at a door, which I knocked on. "Enter!" a familiar voice yelled.

I opened the door, and the six of us stepped in to Tsunade's office. "I'm impressed you showed up, Sasuke," Tsunade said, facing the window with her back to us.

"There's only one reason why I'm here, and it _isn't_ to protect the Hidden Leaf," he assured her.

"You want to protect your brother, I can understand that," Tsunade said to him. "But are you willing to fight off the Decepticlones attacking the village in the process?" she asked him.

Sasuke chose not to answer, but I could tell by the look on his face that he knew he was ultimately going to be fighting alongside his former allies. Right at that moment, someone else knocked on the door. "Enter!" Tsunade called once more. The door opened, and in stepped Kakashi Hatake and Sakura Haruno. However, with them entered a boy with black, neatly-kept hair, paper-white skin, and was wearing a black jacket, dark-gray shirt, black pants, and black gloves.

"Oh, this is Sai. He's Sasuke's, and I guess your replacement," Naruto introduced.

"Good to meet you," I said as we shook hands.

"So, you're this Matt that Naruto always talks about," Sai said with a smile.

"Uh, yeah," I answered.

"Oh, and this is Sasuke, the other ex-member," I said, indicating Sasuke, who was in the corner. Sasuke simply waved, and Sai nodded. Sakura gasped as she saw Sasuke, who simply ignored her and Kakashi.

"Good to see you again, Matt, especially under the circumstances," Kakashi said to me.

But I kept silent. I simply stared at him with an expressionless look on my face. _I felt it would only be fair to have Kakashi witness this meeting as well. He is the boy's godfather after all._ Kakashi simply looked at me as well, and I could tell he understood the fact that I knew the truth.

"Alright," said Tsunade, drawing me back to reality. "People, we have a crisis on our hands," she informed us. "An entity known as the Decepticlone Army, whom Matt, Nichole Schroeder, Taylor Edwards, and Erin Bell have been fighting," I disregarded the fact that she knew the girls' names without me introducing them, "have mounted an assault against the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Now, I've already sent out a messenger to inform the rest of the village, and we will begin evacuations as soon as possible," Tsunade explained.

"How many do we have to fight them with?" I asked. "Roughly sixteen-thousand," she answered.

"Alright, that shouldn't be too bad," I said.

Then, someone else knocked on the door. "Enter!" The door opened to three people, all wearing black sweatshirts and sweats and had black ball caps. All of them were holding rifles, and had pistols on either side of their waist. They also had five grenades, although these grenades looked different from the ones you find on Call of Duty. They were gray, with light-blue, electric-like orbs on the tops and bottoms, not to mention rings of a similar nature running across the side. They also had combat knives with red lines running down the blades.

"Agent Withau?" the one in the middle asked.

"Yeah," I said to him.

"Director McKinley sent us," he said as he walked over to shake my hand. "I'm Special Agent Dan Mako, this is Special Agent James Terrones," he indicated the guy on his left, "and Special Agent Clinton Dorval," he indicated the guy on his right. "We are Threat Interception Team-Bravo, with me as its leader. We've been assigned to assist you," he informed me.

"Awesome, we need all the help we can get," I said to him. Someone else knocked on the door that Mako and his team had forgotten to shut on their way in, and we all turned to see a kid with long, black hair tied in a spiky ponytail, and he wore a green flak jacket over a black long-sleeved shirt with matching pants.

"Shikamaru," Naruto addressed. Shikamaru paid minimal attention to Sasuke as he walked in and said,

"You called for me, Lady Hokage?"

"Yes, I did," Tsunade answered.

"Do you know the situation?" she asked.

"Just the gist of it," he answered. "Apparently an army of robots is about to attack us?" he asked.

"Basically," Tsunade confirmed. "They're waging a full-scale assault against us. They should be here in short of two hours, so we need you to draw up battle plans, and fast," she informed him.

"I've already been coming up with strategies to counter them," Shikamaru informed her. "Matt," he addressed, "you've been out fighting these things, right? How hard are they to kill?"

"Uh, individually or in groups?" I asked.

"Individually," he answered.

"Not too hard, especially for an experienced shinobi," I told him.

"Well that's all we've got around here," Tsunade said to me.

"Alright, good," Shikamaru said. "I think we should have two shinobi teams at all four cardinal and ordinal directions around the Village Gate, each backed with three ANBU teams. (ANBU Black-Ops are the people assigned to go on secret missions and, well, black-ops, but they are also assigned to protect the village in a crisis.) Everyone else should be waiting at strategic points in the village in case any Decepticlones get past the defensive perimeter. Team Kakashi and Team Asuma should be at the north, Team Guy and Team Atarashii should be at the northeast, Team Kurenai and Team…"

He went off explaining his battle strategy, when something caught my attention, and I looked out the window. Three vehicles, a blue long-nose truck with red flames painted on it, a yellow Chevrolet Cobalt SS, and a red, white and blue emergency rescue SUV, were speeding through the forest and headed for the village.

"Damn," I said, and I prepared to go after them. "Mako, you and your team are with me. Sasuke, let's go." The five of us ran out of the Hokage's office while everyone else looked out the window, and we all rushed through the village and went to meet with the vehicles, our guns raised. The three of them started transforming, and my eyes widened as the car and SUV hit seventeen feet tall, and the truck rose to twenty.

"Oh, f…" I said, knowing we were screwed. However, as soon as the three of them were done transforming, they all had their hands in the air, which I found a rather odd invasion strategy.

"Hold your fire, we aren't here to fight," the truck said to us. "We are not who you think we are. My name is Optimus Prime, and we are the Autobots: sworn enemy of the Decepticons," he informed us. "This is Hot Shot," he indicated the car, "and Red Alert," he indicated the SUV.

"What do you think?" I asked Dan.

Dan looked Optimus up and down before saying, "Well, I guess if they were gonna kill us, they'd have done it already, so they seem to be okay." I trusted his judgment, having had much more experience than me, and I lowered Flashbang. Dan, James, and Clinton lowered their guns as well, and Sasuke sheathed his sword. "Alright, so you're here to help us fight the Decepticlones?" I asked Optimus.

"Yes," he answered.

"Alright, then, this should be easy," I said with a smile, noting the considerable height difference between the Autobots and Decepticons.

"I would agree with you, except for one thing," Optimus said to me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The Decepticons have been using a device that makes them much smaller than normal in order to keep military attention off of them. They will be using no such handicap in this fight. At full height, they are bigger than us," Optimus informed us.

"Great," I said, hope dwindling.

A helicopter propeller caught my attention, and five V-22 Ospreys flew over the horizon and headed for the village.

"Oh, yeah," said Hot Shot with a smile, "we called in some friends."


	105. Chapter 103: Invasion

INVASION

About thirty people parachuted out of the Ospreys, followed by six tanks, and the planes flew off while the Autobots' back-up marched towards us. The one in front ran over and said, "Who's in charge here?"

"That'd be me," Dan answered.

"I'm Captain Lennox, I'm commander of this force," the man said.

"Special Agent Mako," he said, and he shook Captain Lennox's hand.

An African-American man ran up to meet Captain Lennox, who said, "This is Sergeant Epps, he's my second in command."

"Good to meet you," said Epps.

"Have you guys fought Decepticons before?" I asked them.

They both looked at me as if they were noticing me for the first time, and it was then that I realized that this was a little awkward. Sasuke and I were fourteen and thirteen respectively, among all of these thirty-year-olds. Captain Lennox laughed, then said, "Wh-What are these kids doing here?"

"Oh, trust me, they're going to be a huge asset to us in this war," Dan assured him with a smile.

Sergeant Epps smiled and said, "This one's not even armed," he indicated me, "and the other one's got nothing but a flimsy little sword. _How_ do you expect them to be an _asset_ to us?" A _Phoenix Flower_ that flew right by Lennox's ear nearly knocked him off his feet, and I appeared behind him with a kunai at his throat, while Sasuke was behind Epps with his sword to his throat. Their troops prepared to fire at us, but Sasuke let out an arc of electricity from his hand that landed right in front of the nearest soldiers, knocking them all off their feet and sending the rest into disarray.

Lennox looked around, then exhaled and said, "I say we let them help."

"Yeah," Epps said, pushing Sasuke's sword away from his throat.

Sasuke and I both holstered our weapons, and I said, "Alright, we've got someone in there drawing up battle strategies, so I'm going to bring him out here and have him include you all in his plan," I informed them.

"Right," said Lennox. With that, I turned around and ran back to the village.

Ten minutes later, I was back with Shikamaru, and he was looking at the Autobots in awe. "So, let me get this straight; these guys are giant aliens from another planet, and they've come here in search of these things called Mini-Cons, which can boost their power. Is that about right?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's it in a nutshell," I confirmed.

"Alright. Well, if these Decepticons are as big as you say they are, then I want all three of you on the frontlines. I imagine it would take at least ten shinobi to be able to take down even one of them. That being said, if you were there to help us out, it would mean much less casualties. I also want the military on the frontlines as well to provide support. I've got five teams of shinobi at all cardinal and ordinal corners of the village. Matt; you, Sasuke, Kakashi and your cousins will be on one of the teams providing backup to whoever needs it. Special Agent Mako, you and your team will be on the other."

"Wait," I said. "If Kakashi will be with us, who's heading Naruto, Sakura, and Sai?"

Shikamaru smiled and said, "Yeah, that's all covered."

"Alright, are we ready to do this?" Captain Lennox asked. "Yeah, all of our ninja are already in position," Shikamaru informed him.

"Alright, men!" Lennox called. "You all are to spread around the perimeter and wait for enemy contact. Once we know where the enemy is coming from, everyone will converge on point and engage. Is that understood!?"

A loud, "Yes, sir!" echoed throughout the troops as they jogged around the gate of the village, along with their tanks. In five minutes, they had eyes on all corners of the outside of the village, ready for an attack to come. Meanwhile, Optimus, Hot Shot, and Red Alert were spaced evenly around the village, also waiting for any signs of movement. Sasuke, Kakashi, Mako, Terrones, Dorval, my cousins, Nichi and I were standing on the top of the Hokage Monument, surveying the forests for what we knew would eventually come.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sai were at the north side of the gate, accompanied by a man with short, brown, spiky hair, a gray face plate with a sheet of metal baring the Hidden Leaf symbol, and adorning the standard Hidden Leaf uniform. This man's name was Yamato, and he was in charge of Team Kakashi whenever Kakashi himself was off on other business. Like resting in the hospital for example.

Asuma Sarutobi, Shikamaru, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi were also with them, waiting for the Decepticlones to come. Asuma was wearing the standard Hidden Leaf uniform with a sash baring the 'fire' kanji wrapped around his waist. Ino was wearing a short purple shirt, a purple apron skirt over a shorter, black skirt, with short fishnet shorts underneath. Choji had a red long-sleeve and matching pants, and was wearing armor on his shoulders, upper legs, and torso. Whereas his hair wasn't very long the first time I met him, it was now down to his waist.

The eight of them were accompanied by twelve more people. Each of these people wore long, black cloaks, and had different-styled masks covering their faces and masking their identities. Tsunade was standing on the roof of her mansion, surveying her village for signs of trouble. We expected an hour-long wait, but within five minutes of everyone getting into positions, something occurred right in the center of the village.

A small house exploded to make way for a giant blue vortex that rose sixty feet into the air. Everyone in the village looked in shock at the vortex, and out of both ends hovered fifteen drop ships for a total of thirty, which deployed all manner of Decepticlones that we had encountered.

_Shit!_ Tsunade said to herself in horror. _Their technology allowed them to get right through our defenses and into the heart of our village!_ The vortex closed, and after their cargo had been dropped, all thirty of the drop ships fired two missiles each, which flew across the village and leveled buildings, sending our fighters into chaos, along with the evacuation teams. The light units, medium units and spider tanks opened fire on the Leaf ninja, while the shockmaces engaged in close-range combat. The serges and heavy units fired their missiles and rockets, and the guerillas fired EMPs at people.

Then, one of Lennox's soldiers outside the village yelled, "Enemy spotted!" The six of us looked over to see twenty more drop ships in the distance, making a steady pace for the village.

"Those sons of bitches have done this perfectly," I said to the others. The twenty drop ships in the distance fired off rounds of missiles at the outer forces converging to intercept them, blowing most of the infantry away and leaving two tanks left. Lennox rose up from the ashes and said, "Open fire!" The tanks unloaded rounds towards the drop ships, but they were all shielded, which blocked the rounds and left them all free to fire back. The nine of us on the Monument watched in horror, until a drop ship rose up from below, taking us all by surprise.

"Scatter!" I yelled, and we all made a brake for it just before the ship fired two missiles that punched a large crater in the head of Hiruzen. All of us were blown off our feet, and I landed on the Monument and fired Flashbang at the ship, which also proved to be shielded as well. Nichi ran past me with a green gadget in toe, and she leaped at the drop ship and activated Knockdown. An EMP disabled the drop ship's shield and engines, sending it shuttering downwards until it took a nosedive. Nichi went with it, but someone leaped off the edge of the Monument, and Sasuke grabbed her just before she hit the ground, and stuck his sword in the Monument to keep them from falling to their deaths.

The drop ship smashed to the ground below, sending fire raging twenty feet out and charring several buildings. A spider tank stepped forward and trained its barrels on Nichi and Sasuke, who were helpless to do anything. The spider tank charged up a precision beam, but just before it could fire, a fire-kunai hit it and exploded, sending the beam tearing through the mountain and causing a huge avalanche. Sasuke's sword broke loose, and he and Nichi plunged down, Nichi screaming and holding onto Sasuke for dear life. I shot down with chakra streaming from my feet, and I grabbed them both and hauled them back up to what was left of the Monument.

A giant canyon was separating the three of us and Mako from his team and my cousins. Mako and his team were all firing with their rifles down at the Decepticlones, picking them off while the Leaf ninja navigated the rubble of the village to fight as well. One of the drop ships approaching the village fired another pair of missiles at Lennox's remaining men, who knew they were dead. Then, a yellow sports car raced over, transformed into robot mode to grab Lennox and Epps, and Hot Shot then transformed back into a car with them inside and raced off just before the missiles hit. The impact killed off the rest of Lennox's men, and also punched a huge hole in the village gate.

Hot Shot came to a stop away from the invading forces, and Lennox and Epps got out, each as fumed about the rapid loss of their men as the other. "You guys stay here," Hot Shot advised them. Red Alert sped past to try and take out the drop ships, and Hot Shot spun around and went after him. Lennox and Epps looked after the Autobots, and when they were gone, Epps said, "I ain't just staying here and doing nothing."

"Yeah, me neither," Lennox agreed, and he took something out of his pocket. He placed a charge on the village gate, and he and Epps backed off. Lennox detonated the charge, which blew a wide hole in the gate. They entered the war zone and started firing at the Decepticlones, who were all preoccupied by the Hidden Leaf ninja. One of the ninja fired a _Fireball_ that wasted three medium units, but he was quickly cut down by a spider tank who was crawling over the rubble. Three ninja were taking on a heavy unit, and the heavy unit stomped its foot on the ground, creating a shockwave that tore through the rubble.

All three of the ninja leaped the shockwave, and one of them made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Air Bullet!_" The _Wind Style_ counterpart of my _Water Style: Liquid Bullets_ fired three compressed balls of wind down at the heavy unit, which sustained three holes in its armor. The heavy unit then fired up at the ninja, who barrel-rolled out of the way and landed on the ground. The heavy unit fired a pair of rockets at them, and one of them was dodged while the other hit a ninja and sent him flying back. One of the two remaining ninja pulled out a scroll and unraveled it, then summoned out three fire-kunai, which he threw at the heavy unit.

The explosions from the paper-bombs eradicated the heavy unit, but a spider tank quickly took its place and killed the two shinobi. Two members of the ANBU landed in front of the spider tank, and one of them made a hand sign and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Breaker!_" A crevasse opened up in the ground, which traveled towards the spider tank and swallowed it in a giant chasm. At that moment, an EMP hit the ANBU that cast the jutsu and depleted him of his chakra. His partner turned to find two guerillas on some rooftops, both of them prepared for battle. The remaining ANBU crossed his arms in front of him, and his hands became surrounded in wind.

"_Wind Style: Typhoon Pulse!_" He swung both his arms outward, sending two arcs of wind that quickly merged into one larger one. The giant arc crashed into the buildings the guerillas were crouched on, sending one of them plummeting to its death while the other leaped into the air. That one came down on top of the ANBU member, who pulled a sword from the scabbard on his waist to combat it. The blade of the sword became surrounded in wind, and the guerilla was severed cleanly in two, with the ANBU in the air behind him, his sword raised.

The two halves of the guerilla crashed to the ground, and the ANBU landed twenty feet away from it, sheathing his sword. Five light units stepped over the rubble, aiming their blasters at the ANBU, who made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" Three rocks sprang up from the ground to take the blasts, and the next second, all five light units fell to pieces. The ANBU landed on a pile of rubble, then sped through the village, looking for more enemies, when a rocket knocked him off his feet, sending him rolling across the ground, and a serge's sword ran him straight through the chest.

Meanwhile, three heavy units trained their missiles on the Hokage Monument, which the nine of us were still standing on, and they fired a total of twelve missiles at us. "Incoming!" I yelled. The missiles collided with the Monument, causing the entire thing to begin breaking apart, sending rubble plummeting to the ground. The rumbling caused by the oncoming collapsed left us barely able to keep our footing, until the Monument finally crumbled completely and cascaded to the ground, bringing us with it. The giant boulders smashed to the ground, creating a small mountain with all of us buried in it.


	106. Chapter 104: Overwhelmed

OVERWHELMED

A fist busted its way out of the rubble, and I climbed out, blood all over me. A current of electricity ran across another area of the rubble, and Sasuke stepped out, equally bloody. Some more rocks were shifted aside, and Kakashi's Shadow Clone disappeared to let Nichi on her feet, while the real Kakashi landed in the rubble to help her out. Terrones and Dorval both emerged with shield generators mounted on their arms, having protected them from the avalanche. Mako came out with a shield as well, having used it to protect Taylor and Erin.

The three heavy units that had attacked us were all ready to finish us, until Sasuke and I charged them with sword and kunai raised. Sasuke cut the head off of one before it could even fire, and I dodged an onslaught of blasts from a second until I leaped up, landed the kunai in the shoulder of its blaster-arm, then drove the blade through its joint, sending its arm crashing to the ground. The heavy unit spun around and sent its fist down on top of me, but I leaped into the air, back-flipped over the unit, and ran a _Chidori_ down its back, cleaving it right in two.

A _Chidori Sharp Spear_ stabbed the third heavy unit right in its core compartment, shutting it offline immediately, and leaving us to help the rest of the village. "Mako, you guys go east, the six of us will go west," I told them.

"Right," Mako responded, and he and his team took off while the six of us headed in the opposite direction. While we ran, three medium units ambushed us, but Sasuke fired off a _Phoenix Flower_ that destroyed them and the buildings they were standing on. We continued running, until Sasuke said, "Hey!"

"What is it?" I replied.

"Look, if we move in a huge group like this, we'll draw fire like flies. I know you want to protect the girls, but if we keep going like we are, you're really only putting them in more danger."

I thought about this, knowing he was right, until I finally said, "Okay, but what do you want me to do? I can't just cut them loose, or they'll get killed in no time."

"We'll be fine, Matt," Nichi assured me. "We've been doing this for a while now, we can handle ourselves."

I considered it for a moment before saying, "Alright, but I want you to take all of the Mini-Cons with you." Right at that moment, a wave of despair hit my mind. "Stop arguing, Flashbang, you're going too," I told him. With this, he detached from my arm, then reattached to Nichi. Safeguard also fell off of me, while Taylor stood by to let him reattach to her. With this, the three of them ran off, leaving Sasuke, Kakashi and I to wipe out whatever we saw.

[Naruto's point-of-view] "_Rasengan!_" I rammed my jutsu into a medium unit, sending him flying back and smashing to pieces against a building. Sakura came down on top of a pocket of five light units with her fist raised, and she buried it in the ground, causing a massive shockwave that blew all of the light units away. Two shots landed in her shoulder, knocking her back as a spider tank marched over the rubble, training its barrels on me. A white lion outlined in black attacked the spider tank, causing it to fire in random directions as the lion's mouth tore at the spider tank's metal armor.

Finally, the spider tank fell to the ground, and the lion tore it to pieces before turning into ink and splashing to the ground. Sai was twenty feet away, kneeling on the ground with a scroll out in front of him, and a paintbrush in his hand. "_Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll!_"

Meanwhile, Yamato landed on the ground with a Snake sign formed, and he said, "_Wood Style: Wood Tendrils!_" Five square tendrils of wood sprouted up out of the ground and shot at a battalion of light units, tearing them all to pieces. Meanwhile, one of the ANBU members that was with us flew through the air, and he fired a _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu_ down at a medium unit, who was blown to pieces. A serge fired a rocket up at the ANBU member, who was blown clear out of the air and landed on the ground.

Another one of the ANBU members made a hand sign and said, "_Water Style: Mini-Water Dragon Jutsu!_" He held out his arm, and water appeared from out of nowhere on it, which then shot a stream that took the shape of a dragon. The _Mini-Water Dragon_ shot at the serge, who managed to block it with its sword, but the ANBU sent a current of electricity through the _Water Dragon_, which flowed unto the serge and electrocuted it. The serge was then blown apart, sending its pieces flying through the air. One of the drop ships approached us and fired a pair of missiles, and I leaped out of the way while the missiles blew away three of the ANBU members.

Sakura, Sai, Yamato and I landed on the ground, with Sakura fresh from healing her arm, and I made some hand signs and said, "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" Six clones appeared around me, and five of them engaged the drop ship while the sixth stayed behind with me. The clones threw shuriken up at the drop ship, but its shield protected it, while a machine gun dropped down out of the bottom and opened fire. All five of the clones were quickly destroyed, while myself and the final clone leaped at it. "_Giant Rasengan!_" We had our hands held out to each other, and in between them was a _Rasengan _twice as big as the original, which we rammed into the drop ship's shield.

The shield held out at first, but five seconds later, it shattered and allowed us to ram the _Giant Rasengan_ into the ship itself. The ship was blown apart, sending parts bouncing across the ground, while we landed behind the bulk of what was left. Two bullets hit my clone in the back, and I turned around to see a heavy unit standing twenty feet away, glaring at me. A small tendril of wood sprouted out of the ground and wrapped around the heavy unit's ankle, and Yamato was squatted down with both palms on the ground. Several larger wood tendrils shot up out of the ground, wrapping around the heavy unit and bringing it into the air, then brutally tearing it to scrap metal.

A serge came down on top of Yamato from behind with its sword raised, but a giant spike of wood shot up out of the ground and ran the serge clean through, driving it away and leaving Yamato safe. I swung a kunai and met the blade of a serge, and we exchanged slashes several times, before it tripped me up and sent its sword down on top of me. Just before it hit, the serge froze, leaving me unharmed. A shadow ran from the serge to Shikamaru, who was kneeled on the ground with a Rat sign formed. "Let's see how you handle this," he said. "_Shadow Sewing Jutsu!_" His shadow turned into several tendrils that rose up off the ground and tore through the serge, leaving him to fall to pieces on the ground.

"_Spiky Human Boulder!_" Choji had turned into a giant ball, with his hair lengthened and sharpened via chakra and wrapped around his body as he tore through ten light units. Choji then reverted back to his original form, and he sent his _Partial Expansion Jutsu_-enlarged fist at a guerilla, who was driven back and smashed into a building. Choji swung his fist around and used it to bat away three medium units, just before three shots flew through the air and landed in Choji's arm, causing him to scream in pain as his arm retracted to its original length and size.

Meanwhile, Ino had her hands in the shape of a box, and she said, "_Mind Destruction Jutsu!_" The medium unit she was aiming at froze just before firing, and it then trained its blaster on its light unit allies, taking them all out before they even realized what was wrong. The rogue medium unit was then blown away by a heavy unit missile, which then trained its aim on Ino herself. The heavy unit fired three blasts, but someone landed in front of her and blocked the blasts with trench knives. Asuma Sarutobi charged the heavy unit head-on, who fired relentlessly at him, but Asuma dodged all of the blasts before leaping into the air.

The sound of tearing metal echoed through the air, and the heavy unit's head landed on the ground, followed by Asuma. One of the ANBU members landed back-to-back with him to block a blast. "What's the situation, Raimaru?" Asuma asked.

"We're taking heavy fire. Right now, there's only six of the ANBU left in this unit, and the Decepticlones just keep coming," Raimaru reported.

"Stand your ground, otherwise the Hidden Leaf will be reduced to rubble," Asuma commanded.

"Yeah, what's left of it," Raimaru added. Then, Raimaru ducked down, and he and Asuma switched positions, Asuma blocking a blast with his trench knife, and Raimaru blocking a blast with his kunai. They both charged their adversaries, and the sound of metal tearing rented the air.

"Huaagh!" I charged three medium units with a kunai in either hand, and I blocked every blast they fired at me. I slashed at them several times until they all fell to pieces, and I leaped into the air to avoid three blasts fired from a spider tank. "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" I conjured a single clone, with which I formed a _Rasengan_, and he spun me around and launched me at the spider tank. I plowed the _Rasengan_ into the spider tank, tearing it to pieces, and I landed on the ground and charged some more enemies. Meanwhile, Sakura landed her fist in the head of a light unit, knocking it clean off, and a serge charged her with its sword raised.

Sakura quickly pulled out a kunai and blocked the serge's slash, and she quickly got around its guard and buried her fist in its chest, then tore out what looked to be a mechanical heart. The serge's eyes went dark, and it fell to the ground. A heavy unit stomped over the rubble with its blaster aimed at Sakura, but two birds made of ink flew over and slammed into it, smashing it to pieces and sending it crashing to the ground. Right at that moment, an EMP slammed into Sai, knocking him to the ground and depleting him of his chakra.

He looked up to see a guerilla barreling down on top of him, but Choji's giant fist smashed it to pieces, sending what was left cascading across the ground. "Thank you," Sai said as Choji helped him to his feet.

"No problem, but we still got a lot more coming," Choji warned him.

"Yes, I know," Sai responded.

"Boys!" Ino yelled. Sai and Choji both looked over to see her confronting five medium units, each with their blasters trained on her. Five tendrils of wood shot up out of the ground, slamming into the medium units' chins and sending them flying into the air. Yamato swiped his arm through the air, firing five spikes of wood that stabbed the medium units directly in the core compartment, killing them instantly. Shikamaru was kneeled down to the ground, and he sent five shadow tendrils to attack ten light units, tearing them all to pieces.

"I'm starting to see less of them," Shikamaru said to his allies.

"Yeah, you think we might finally be getting to them?" I asked as I competed with another serge.

"No," Asuma answered.

I landed a _Rasengan_ in the serge's face and looked up to see two drop ships flying overhead. They each fired two missiles down at us, sending us all into chaos and igniting fires across the battlefield. Two of the ANBU flew at the drop ship, but its shield blasted them both back and sent them rolling across the ground. The drop ship turned to face the ANBU, and blasters on either side of it charged up. The blasters fired two highly-concentrated purple blasts that blew away one of the ANBU, and we knew there was no way he could survive. Another missile fired down at the second ANBU, but he leaped into the air to avoid it, and threw a fire-kunai at the ship.

The shield knocked the kunai out of the air, causing the paper-bomb to detonate harmlessly on the ground, and the ship fired machine guns, killing the other ANBU. The other ship had a turret out of the bottom, which was firing relentlessly at us. The eight of us, Team Kakashi and Team Asuma, were hiding behind buildings, hoping they would hold in time for Shikamaru to come up with a plan. "Let me try something," Asuma suggested, and he held up his hand with his trench knife. The knife became surrounded in an aura of wind, and Asuma said, "_Wind Style: Razor Wind!_"

He swiped his arm around the building, sending an arc of wind at the drop ship. The shield sprang to life on cue, and the _Razor Wind_ rammed into it with full force. The shield held out for about five seconds, but the _Razor Wind_ disappeared, and the shield shattered. "Yamato, go!" Asuma ordered. Yamato peered around the building and shot a tendril of wood from the palm of his hand at the drop ship, which ran it cleanly through. Yamato brought his arm up, and the wood tendril came with it, tearing the drop ship in half and sending it crashing to the ground.

The other drop ship fired a missile at the building Yamato was hiding behind, and the blast from the impact sent most of the building collapsing down on Yamato and Sai. When the dust from the impact cleared, a dome of pure wood was in the midst of the rubble, which then receded to reveal Yamato and Sai, completely unharmed. Right then, an onslaught of blasts hit Sai twice in the arm, knocking him off his feet, and also hit Sakura twice in the back, knocking her down as well. "Sakura!" I yelled, but two more blasts hit me, knocking me down with her. We all looked to see a dozen medium units aiming their blasters at us. Behind us, the drop ship had its turret armed and ready to fire.


	107. Chapter 105: Enemies and Allies

ENEMIES & ALLIES

The eight of us were stranded, eight medium units on one side and a fully-armed drop ship on the other. They all prepared to fire, and Shikamaru said, "_Ninja Art: Shadow Dome Jutsu!_" His shadow stretched out, then rose into the air and wrapped around the eight of us and concealed us all in a giant dome that blocked all light. We heard dozens of blasts hit the _Shadow Dome_, but the _Dome_ didn't so much as waver at the bombardment. When the blasts subsided, there wasn't even a crack in the shield, and we were all perfectly fine.

"Here's a new trick," Shikamaru said, and he made some more hand signs. "_Ninja Art: Shadow Travel Jutsu!_" The _Dome_ faded into the ground as a black blob, and it shot across the earth, past the drop ship and safe from the line of fire. About twenty seconds later, the _Shadow Dome_ came out of the ground, then disappeared, leaving us all somewhat dizzy. By the time we had regained ourselves, twelve light units marched over the rubble and pointed their blasters at us.

"Let's take 'em out," Asuma said with a smile as he raised his trench knife.

[Rock Lee's point-of-view] "_Dynamic Entry!_" I landed a kick in the head of a light unit, and the head went flying off while the body crashed to the ground.

"_Rotation!_" Neji used his jutsu to take out three medium units that had him surrounded, which reduced them all to rubble. Tenten was spinning in a similar manner, except she had her scrolls in her hands and was launching kunai in every direction. Each blade made a hit, and one after another, decepticlones dropped to the ground left and right, until a heavy unit landed a well-aimed hit in Tenten's back, knocking her off her feet with blood spattering across the ground.

"_Leaf Whirlwind!_" Our sensei Guy appeared from out of nowhere right in front of the heavy unit, bent down, and he swept the heavy unit's foot out from under it, sending it crashing to the ground. Guy-sensei then jumped up, flipped forward, and landed his foot in the heavy unit's head, smashing it to pieces. Guy-sensei leaped out of the way of half a dozen blasts fired from a spider tank, which was approaching him, training its barrels on him as he flew. Tenten tossed three fire-kunai at the spider-tank, and the explosions reduced it to ashes.

I was so impressed with my comrades' teamwork that I didn't even notice the shockmace approaching me until it swung its staff, the blade running across my chest and knocking me off my feet. The shockmace spun its staff around in its hands and prepared to finish me, until, "_Fire Style: Bomb Flare Jutsu!_" A small fireball hit the shockmace from behind and blew it apart, causing me to shield my eyes from the metal. When the coast was clear, someone walked up to me and held his hand out. I grabbed it, and he hauled me to my feet.

My savior was a sixteen-year-old boy with black, spiky hair, and who was wearing a red, short-sleeved jacket over a dark-gray shirt, with red sweats.

"Thank you, Hakuro," I said to him.

"No problem. Watch your back," he warned me.

"Hey, loverboys!"

Hakuro Tsururi and I both looked over to see a girl trash a medium unit with a flying-roundhouse kick to the head, knocking it five feet away. This girl had black hair in pigtails, and was wearing a light-blue tank top with gray pants. "You actually gonna help the rest of us fight these things, or do you wanna get some privacy and make out for a little while?" my sister, Amachi asked.

"Uh, yes, sorry," I said embarrassedly.

Hakuro sighed and said, "She certainly hasn't lost any of her fire since the Chunin Exams, has she?"

"No, she most certainly has not. She bounced back well from her loss to Hatsuji," I reminisced. But we were both brought abruptly back to the battlefield by a rocket launched by a serge, that just barely missed our heads.

"You hit him low, I'll hit him high," Hakuro said.

"Right!" I responded, and I ran at the serge while Hakuro hung back. The serge fired another rocket at me, but I ducked it and swept the serge's feet out from under it. Before it even hit the ground, I landed my heel in its chin, sending it ten feet into the air.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" Hakuro's fireball destroyed the serge, sending its parts raining down across the ground, but it was quickly replaced by a heavy unit. "Oh, come on, is that the best you got?" Hakuro said with a smile. He made some more hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Breaker!_" He then slammed his fist on the ground, and a linear shockwave caused the ground to collapse, which swallowed the heavy unit into a giant chasm. Meanwhile, Guy-sensei landed on the ground back-to-back with a guy that had long, black, rugged hair, and was wearing a blue jacket over a black shirt, along with blue-jeans.

The two of them were currently surrounded by five spider tanks, which all had their barrels trained on them and ready to fire. Before they knew it, the two of them had a hailstorm of blaster fire coming at them from all directions. Then, the guy in blue made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Wall!_" He spat out a torrent of water that surrounded the two of them, then shot up to form a circular, fifty-foot-tall wall of water that intercepted all of the blasts. Then, the guy made some more hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Dragon Missile!_"

Out of the _Water Wall_ shot half a dozen streams of water that took the shape of dragons, and they decimated the spider tanks, sending them across the battle field in tiny pieces. The _Water Wall _dropped down and splashed across the ground, revealing Guy and the _Water Style_-user to be completely unharmed. "Not bad, Kyoshi," Guy said. He looked around at the remnants of the spider tanks with an impressed look in his eyes. Kyoshi Atarashii was Amachi's and Hakuro's sensei.

"You know," Guy said, "that other boy of yours isn't doing too bad either."

As he said that, a boy the same age as Amachi and Hakuro, who had blond hair and was wearing a yellow jacket over black shirt and black jeans, made some hand signs and said, "_Lightning Style: Lightning Apparition!_" He pointed his arms out and fired off a current of electricity that took the form of a tiger-like creature, and it tore through a pocket of seven medium units, which were all blown apart. He then found himself face-to-face with a shockmace, which was spinning its staff in its arms in preparation for battle.

The _Lightning Style_-user made three hand signs and held his arm out. A surge of lightning formed around his hand, and he charged the shockmace, using his _Chidori_ to rip it cleanly in half. Two rockets shot at him, but he made some more hand signs and said, "_Lightning Style: Defense Surge!_" He held out his hands, and surges of electricity shot from them, forming a wall around him that took the rockets, leaving him unharmed. He made some more hand signs and said, "_Lightning Style: Destruction Surge!_" The _Defense Surge_ exploded, sending several tendrils of electricity at the two serges and tore them apart.

This boy's name was Aremaru Inazuma, and he had been placed on Atarashii's team after Natsuhi Kamero had died. Even before this power-house came forward, Atarashii's was the strongest genin team in the entire Hidden Leaf. And, as Lady Tsunade wanted them to keep that reputation every bit as much as Atarashii-sensei did, she decided it would be best to put this prodigy on as Natsuhi's replacement. Before I saw what he did next, Hakuro and I were surrounded on all sides by a dozen guerillas.

Half of them charged up EMPs to fire at us while the other half prepared to follow through with a melee assault. Before the EMPs could be fired, Hakuro made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" He bent down and slammed his palm on the ground, and several ten-foot-tall rocks sprung up from the ground all around us and blocked the EMPs. Hakuro made some more hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Avalanche Jutsu!_" The _Rock Wall_ crumbled to the ground to reveal the guerillas getting ready to pounce on us. But Hakuro made even more hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Rock Bombardment!_"

Every single one of the rocks that made up the _Rock Wall_ shot outward from us, destroying all of the guerillas and punching dozens of craters in the piles of rubble and the remaining buildings. A fine layer of dust set over the battlefield from the attack, shrouding the presence of any enemies. We both got back-to-back to better look for incoming fire, and we strained our eyes to look for signs of movement. That was when one of the ANBU that had been assigned to help us landed in front of us and said, "I'll take care of this." He made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Updraft!_"

Wind flowed out from his body on all sides, then rose upwards taking all the dust with it and allowing us to see once more. There didn't appear to be any more decepticlones in the area, until two drop ships came inbound and aimed some missiles at us. That was when another ANBU dropped down next to them, making hand signs the whole way, and he said, "_Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Pulse!_" A shockwave emanated from his body, disabling the drop ships' shields and engines and causing them both to crash to the ground.

"Nice one, Kiyamono!" the guy in front of us said. That was when a heavy unit missile hit Kiyamono from behind and knocked him off his feet, but he was still alive and writhing with pain. The guy in front of us said, "Stay here!" and held out his hand. "_Wind Style: Slicing Dagger!_" His hand became surrounded in wind, and he charged the heavy unit, leaped its blasts, and cut its head off just before landing behind it, while the heavy unit dropped to the ground. Then, he ran over to Kiyamono Hakayuri (I had heard his name mentioned several times) and helped him to his feet.

"I'm fine, Fumaru," Kiyamono said as he rubbed his head. That was when a shockmace landed ten feet away from them with its mace charged and ready for battle.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Bullets!_" Five tiny balls of fire as big as bullets tore through the shockmace, sending it collapsing to the ground. Another ANBU member that had been assigned to us was standing twenty feet away with his hand held out, fingers pointing at where the shockmace had been standing. "Is everyone okay?" he asked.

"We're fine," Hakuro answered.

"Yeah, so are we," Kiyamono said as Fumaru helped him to his feet. At that moment, both of our teams landed next to us, along with the remaining seven ANBU members.

"Neji, do you see anyone else coming?" I asked my comrade.

"No," Neji Hyuga answered. He was looking around with his _Byakugan_ active, searching for any signs of enemies making their way over. "Wait!" he said suddenly.

As soon as he said that, a blast of concentrated purple energy smashed into Kiyamono, killing him instantly and sending him flying away. We all looked around and saw a drop ship flying towards us, the turret under it armed and ready to fire. "Scatter!" Guy-sensei shouted. We all leaped off in different directions just as the turret opened fire, and we landed behind different buildings. Now that Kiyamono was gone, there was no way for us to combat the drop ship's shield. Hakuro and I were behind a building, and I was peering out to see what the drop ship was doing. I then came back behind and sat down next to Hakuro.

"As long as we stay here, I don't think it will bother us," I said to him. As soon as the last word left my mouth, the building exploded, sending us both flying back along with the rubble from the building. I landed on the ground, but immediately got back up and yelled, "Hakuro!" My face fell as I saw him laying on the ground, blood trickling from his mouth, his eyes open and staring blankly.


	108. Chapter 106: The Unseen Conflict

Two chapters this week. That's a first.

* * *

THE UNSEEN CONFLICT

I watched Hakuro's lifeless body in horror, vainly hoping that it would suddenly spring back up, and Hakuro would be fine. But deep in my heart, I knew that such a thing would not happen. That was when Amachi landed next to me and said, "Bro, are you okay?" I looked at her sadly, and she looked past me to her fallen comrade. It was Amachi's number one rule not to cry under any circumstances. That any emotion shown to those around her would prove her weak and ineffective in battle. But right now, tears were streaming down her face, and she was fighting the urge to start bawling.

Despite some of the brash things that come out of her mouth at times, I know Amachi to be one of the most kind-hearted people in the world. I flashed back to the day the preliminaries ended, and Amachi and I were training in the Hidden Leaf Forest;

_Amachi was crying hysterically into my shoulder, and I had my arms around her comfortingly. "I can't believe…Natsuhi's… gone," she sobbed. _

"_I know, it is hard for me as well," I told her. She had just got done telling me how she had faked her whole way through her fight with Sakura; how the whole time she had been acting confident and superior was just an act, and that in reality, all she wanted to do was start crying. "Amachi," I said to her, "I promise I will get that bastard Sarura for what he did. There is no excuse for killing a fellow shinobi, especially one who fought as hard as Natsuhi did. That is the kind of person you should respect until the day you die. I swear on my life Amachi, that I will _kill_ Sarura for what he did._

[Amachi's point-of-view] I watched my comrade's body laying on the ground, unable to believe that this was really happening. Natsuhi's death was hard enough, but Hakuro? My boyfriend? I flashed back to all the times we had spent together. How we would sit on the couch, and he would hold me. How we would go out to eat almost every day. How he would hold me and kiss me, like I was the best thing in the world to him. I knew there was no way I could go on in this war. All I wanted now was to die so I could be with him. And then I flashed back to that day, which seemed like so long ago. The day we had taken the Second Exam, and were in the Forest of Death.

[Third-person point-of-view] _Amachi, Hakuro, and Natsuhi were leaping through the trees of the Forest of Death, hoping to find an earth scroll quickly. It had already been five hours since the Second Exam had begun. Finally, Amachi looked down and saw a squad walking idly through the woods. "There we go!" Amachi said, ready to battle. "Hakuro, you start," she said, and Hakuro made some hand signs. _

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He fired a giant fireball down at the genin team, but they saw it coming just in time to leap out of the way. The fireball smashed into the ground, blowing out a huge crater. The genin team landed in the trees, but were spread out, unable to get to each other for backup. Suimaru Ichina was out in the open, looking around for the source of the fireball, but unable to find anything. Kaze Jinsoku was hidden in the trees, scoping out the situation from the shadows. Rai Miki was somewhat hidden in the trees, but still fairly easy to find. Team Amachi was still in the same spot, looking down upon Team Suimaru. _

"_I've got one," Amachi said. _

"_There's two," Hakuro said. _

"_Amachi and I will take on those two," Natsuhi said. "Hakuro, you smoke out the other one." _

"_Got it," Hakuro said, and he leaped off. _

_Natsuhi made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" Several shards of rock shot off the ground and flew at Rai. She managed to jump out of the way, but was still grazed in the leg. Rai dropped down and landed in a thicket of bushes, trying to get out of the line of fire. Suimaru had heard Natsuhi's jutsu, and was now ducked down, trying to spot their attackers. "_Leaf Hurricane!_" Suimaru turned around and saw Amachi flying at him with her leg raised. _

_Suimaru quickly made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" He spat three balls of water at Amachi, but she back-flipped out of the way, grasped the tree limb Suimaru was standing on, and swung up level with him. She kicked him in the gut, knocking him off the tree limb. He dropped to the ground, but a wave of wind caught him, slowing his fall, and raised him up to another branch. Kaze brought his arms back into the bushes he was hiding in. Suimaru landed on the tree branch and made some hand signs, and spat three more balls of water at Amachi. Amachi dropped and hung on the tree limb to avoid the water. _

_She swung back up and landed on the branch again, then leaped down at Suimaru. Hakuro landed in a tree towards the top of the forest, looking down on the battle. He surveyed the area, looking for the third member of the enemy squad. He couldn't see anyone but Suimaru, Amachi, and Natsuhi. Now, even Rai had hidden herself. Natsuhi, however, was in the process of looking for her. Natsuhi looked around and saw that there were only so many hiding places in the area, and decided that he would simply go through them all. He made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" _

_Rock shards shot up from the ground at every bush and overly thick tree within a twenty foot radius. Rai leaped up into the air out of the way, and landed on a tree limb. She made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Shock Palms!_" A current of electricity surrounded her hands, and she prepared to fight. Natsuhi made some hand signs and leaped off his limb. He dived towards the ground with his fist raised, and when he hit, he smashed his fist into it, embedding it in the earth. He straightened up and pulled a thin, long rock out of the ground. _

_The rock took the shape of a sword, which he pointed up at Rai. Rai leaped down at Natsuhi with her Shock Palms raised, and collided into his _Earth Style: Rock Sword_, unleashing a shockwave that punched a crater in the ground. Natsuhi and Rai struggled against each other, trying to outdo the other. Unfortunately for Natsuhi, Earth Chakra Natures are weaker than Lightning Chakra Natures. Natsuhi's Rock Sword was shattered, and Natsuhi was blasted with electricity and sent skidding backwards across the ground. _

_Rai charged him with her_ Shock Palms_, but Natsuhi managed to make some hand signs, and said, "_Earth Style: Rock Wall!_" A rock sprouted up out of the ground, and grew big enough to completely shield Natsuhi from Rai. Rai watched as the _Rock Wall _rose into the air. _

_Amachi flew through the air with her leg stretched forward, but Suimaru made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Wall!_" He spat out a torrent of water, which took the form of a wall that defended Suimaru from Amachi. Amachi landed on the wall, using her chakra to keep her suspended. She jumped off, and the wall dissipated, making room for Suimaru to fire three _Liquid Bullets_ at her. They all hit her and knocked her out of the air, and she dropped down. She'll die if she falls like that!_ _Natsuhi said, making some hand signs. _

"Earth Style: Rock Wall!_"_ _Rocks sprang up out of the ground and formed a wall that caught Amachi softly, and then receded back into the ground, laying Amachi down, who was rubbing her head. "Hakuro! Have you found the other one yet!?" she bellowed to the sky. "I'm still looking!" Hakuro yelled back. Amachi leaped out of the way just before three more _Liquid Bullets_ smashed into the ground. Amachi landed in a tree, then shot herself at Suimaru. Suimaru leaped into the air, and Amachi landed on a tree branch, then shot herself up at him again. _

_Suimaru made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" He fired several balls of water down at Amachi, but she blasted right through them undeterred. She flipped and swung her foot at Suimaru. Suimaru leaped out of the way, and Amachi's foot snapped the tree limb off. Amachi landed on another tree limb and looked up at Suimaru, who flew through the air, firing _Liquid Bullet _after_ Liquid Bullet_ down at Amachi. She ducked out of the way of them, and they went smashing through trees, sending branches crashing to the ground. Amachi threw some shuriken up at Suimaru, but he dived out of the way and landed on a tree branch. _

_Hakuro continued surveying the area, when a gust of wind blasted him, nearly blowing him off his tree limb. Hakuro looked down at where the gust of wind came from, but saw a clump of bushes set in the trees. He made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" He fired a barrage of tiny fireballs at the clump of bushes, igniting it and sending it dropping to the ground. No body fell out, which meant the third team member had moved. Another gust of wind hit Hakuro, much stronger this time, and he was blown off his feet and off the tree limb. _

_He fell headfirst towards the ground, and looked up to see Kaze jumping through the branches. Hakuro made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fire Wave!_" He placed his hand on the trunk of a tree and sent a wave of fire across it, which traveled across the trees and shot at Kaze. Kaze managed to get out of the way just in time, and the wave of fire shot through the trees, sending burning branches dropping to the ground. Kaze made some hand signs and fired another gust of wind at Hakuro. Hakuro made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He fired a huge fireball at Kaze, which hit the wave of wind and grew into a wild wave that flew at Kaze. _

"_Oh, jeez," he said, as he knew he had no way of dodging it. A huge, fiery explosion blasted through the trees, sending huge chunks of burning wood raining across the ground. _

"_Nice," said Amachi with a smile, looking up at the explosion. _

"_No way that kid could have withstood that," Natsuhi said. A tendril of smoke dropped from the explosion, and Kaze flew down, smashing through tree branches, and he smashed into the ground. When the smoke and dust cleared, he had few injuries in spite of having just been blown up, but he had been knocked unconscious. _

"_No, Kaze!" Rai yelled, looking over at her teammate with wide eyes. _

"_Don't take your eyes off me!" Natsuhi said, swinging his _Rock Sword_. Rai just barely managed to block it with her _Shock Palms_, and she thrust Natsuhi's sword up over their heads. She landed her palm in his stomach, paralyzing him and making him spit out blood. She grabbed his wrist and threw him to the ground, leaving him dazed from her blow. She ran over to her teammate, and bent down next to him, placing his head in her lap. _

"_Kaze, are you okay?" she said, gazing down at him with tears in her eyes. _

"_D-Don't waste your time on me when the enemy is still out there," he said through half-opened eyes. As if in response to his warning, another _Fireball_ flew down at them. Just before it hit, Suimaru came from out of nowhere and jumped up at the fireball, making some hand signs. _

"Water Style: Water Wall!_" He blew another wall of water out of his mouth that put out the _Fireball_, and left team Suimaru unharmed. "Kaze, do I really gotta keep saving your ass?" Suimaru said with a smug smile as he landed on the ground. _

"_Shut up, Suimaru!" Kaze said warningly. He tried to get back to his feet, but Rai kept him down. _

"_No, you shouldn't move," she insisted, trying to hold him down. _

"_Get off me, Rai," Kaze said, pushing her arm off. She tried to stop him, but he rose to his feet and made some hand signs. "_Wind Style: Gust Current!_" He held his arm out and fired another gust of wind at Team Amachi. They all jumped out of the way, and flew off in different directions. _

"_Natsuhi!" Hakuro yelled as he made some hand signs. _

"_I know!" Natsuhi yelled back, making hand signs as well. _

"Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" _

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" _

_They each fired their respective jutsu at Team Suimaru, who were helpless to dodge. _

_Suimaru made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Wall!_" He spat out another wall of fire to block the _Fireball_, but that didn't help against the Terra Needles. They all shot right through the shield, and three of them hit Suimaru in the torso. He spat out blood, but remained on his feet. _

"Suimaru!_" Rai screamed, tears streaming from her eyes. _

"_Dammit!" Kaze said, making some hand signs. "_Wind Style: Gust Current!_" He fired another gust of wind at Hakuro. _

"_Oh, you want some more?" he said, making some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Swirling Flames!_" He fired a ball of swirling fire at the wave of wind, which collided, and grew as big as a Fire Style: Fireball_. _This coincided perfectly with the _Fireball _that Hakuro shot after it. Suimaru dropped to the ground, and with no way to defend, Kaze and Rai watched the brigade of fire come at them with wide eyes. An explosion sent smoke rising above the trees, and birds flying away. Smoke rose from a fifteen-foot crater in the ground, around which uprooted trees laid on the ground, burning from the impact. _

_Suimaru and Kaze laid on the ground, while Rai was still standing, her arms crossed with electricity running through them. "I just…barely managed to…save them," she said, and she dropped. All three of them were severely burnt, and Suimaru was losing a lot of blood. Kaze raised his head, blood trailing from his mouth, and he analyzed the situation. Looking around at his teammates, he knew there was only one smart solution. _

"_Here," he said, digging in his pocket. He pulled out an earth scroll, which caught the eye of all three members of Team Amachi. "You win. Take this scroll and leave us be," he said. He threw it at Hakuro, who walked forward and bent down next to Rai. He dug around in his pocket, and handed her a small package. _

"_Here, take this," he said. _

"_Wh-What is it?" Rai asked, eyeing the package. _

"_It's a med-kit. Treat your friend, otherwise he'll die. There's some patches and a syringe with preserved blood. It's infused with chakra, so it'll work for any blood type," he explained, and he straightened up. With that, Team Amachi leaped off, heading for the tower. _

_[Amachi's point-of-view]_ I was kneeling next to Hakuro, caressing his face, tears dripping down next to him. I remembered how generous Hakuro had always been; he had given a medical kit to help someone he didn't even know, simply because it was the right thing to do. And now all that generosity had just been slaughtered for essentially no reason at all. And that was when my blood began to boil. I didn't want to die now, I wanted to live long enough to tear apart every piece of tin trash in this entire village until the entire Decepticlone Army was scrap metal.

I rose to my feet and said, "Bro, let's go. We're going to avenge Hakuro."

"Right," he said, and he rose to his feet as well.


	109. Chapter 107: Old Talents for New Battles

This is part two of the two chapters that were posted this week. If you haven't read 106 already, it's really just a big flashback battle that I threw in because I was too lazy to write an actual chapter. That's why I'm posting these at the same time. Not a whole lot happens in 106, but if you feel like reading it, go for it.

* * *

OLD TALENTS FOR NEW BATTLES

[Hinata Hyuga's point-of-view] "_Gentle Fist!_" I rammed the palm of my hand into the core compartment of a medium unit, instantly shutting it offline.

"_Fang Over Fang!_" Kiba and Akamaru tore through a line of light units, tearing them all to pieces, and they both landed ten feet away from the piles of scrap metal. A serge came at Shino, but then stopped cold as hundreds of insects crawled out of its joints, and the serge's body fell to pieces.

"Hinata, what else do we have coming our way?" Shino asked me.

I activated my _Byakugan_ and looked around the wrecked village. That was when I noticed the shockmace that was right behind me with its staff raised. "_Wind Style: Air Bullet!_" A ball of concentrated wind blew the shockmace apart, leaving me safe. I looked to my right and saw a boy who was thirteen-years-old, and had black, spiky hair and matching eyes. He was wearing a green, short-sleeved jacket over a black shirt and black sweats.

"Are you okay, Hinata?" asked Aori Kakushin.

"Yes, I'm fine, Aori, thank you," I said with a smile.

"Keep on your toes," he told me.

The instant he said so, he was hit in the head by a missile. "Aori!" I screamed. I looked around to see a heavy unit atop a pile of rubble, aiming its blaster at me. "_Lightning Style: Tesla Jutsu!_" A current of electricity shot at the heavy unit, hitting it in the core compartment and shutting it offline. The heavy unit fell to the ground, and another thirteen-year-old boy landed next to me.

"You good?" he asked me.

"Yes, Dageki," I answered.

He then ran over to Aori and helped him back to his feet. "It's a good thing you had your _Wind Armor_ active, huh?" Dageki Shiawase asked.

"Yeah…that's embarrassing," Aori said as he rubbed his head. "Wait, look!" Aori said urgently. The three of us looked over to a girl with black hair down to her waist facing off against five medium units.

"Let's go help her!" I said. I prepared to go after her, but Dageki grabbed my arm and held me back.

"She'll be fine," he assured me with a smile. The medium units prepared to fire their blasters at her, but she made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Flaming Pirouette!_" She spun around like a top, and a tornado of pure fire erupted around her, blasting all of the medium units to pieces and sending them flying back. I looked with a wide jaw, having not known that Moeru Maihime had such a fiery temper. That was when a spider tank marched over and started firing at her. She skillfully and gracefully dodged all of the blasts, and she made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Racing Skater!_"

Fire erupted around her feet, and she skated gracefully across the ground at the spider tank. The spider tank charged up a precision beam to fire at her, but she was quickly closing in on it, and she then made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fiery Pas!_" Her entire body became engulfed in fire, and she leaped directly at it. The spider tank was caught by surprise, and Moeru tore right through it, causing what was left to crash to the ground. Moeru landed five feet behind the wreckage, then leaped into the air, back-flipped, and landed right next to me.

"How we doing?" she asked me.

"Well, all of the boys are still alive and well," I answered.

"Good, let's try and keep them that way," she suggested, and she leaped off again.

That was when I turned around and found two guerillas preparing to pounce at me. They leaped through the air towards me, and I said, "Let's see you try it!" I crossed my arms, which became surrounded in chakra, and I waved them through the air, sending several needles made of pure chakra that hit the guerillas, and caused them both to fall apart. I spun around and hit the heel of my hand against the staff of a shockmace, and I then put my palm in its stomach, causing it to recoil in pain and let go of its staff. I took the staff, spun it around in my hands, and stabbed the shockmace in the stomach, causing it to grasp the staff desperately, as if it were its link to life.

I wrenched the staff out of its stomach, spun it around, and cut the shockmace cleanly in two from above. The two halves fell to the ground, and I immediately spun around and collided the bladed end of the staff into the sword of a serge. While we started clashing, Kiba used _Tunneling Fang_ to tear through three medium units, and he then landed on the ground and waited for more. Akamaru, in Kiba's form, rose up from tearing out the core of a light unit, and he then leaped into the air to avoid a blast from another light unit. Kiba tore his claws through the light unit's head, causing what was left to drop to the ground, and they both used _Fang Over Fang_ to tear through more Decepticlones.

A spider tank marched towards Shino, but insects crawled out of its legs and caused it to crash to the ground. The insects then enveloped the spider tank completely, leaving Shino perfectly safe. I charged a serge head-on, shoved his arm away to block his slash, and put my palm in his stomach, making it double over. I put my opposite palm in the serge's head, knocking it off and making its body drop to the ground. I then leaped out of the way of a blast fired by a heavy unit, who then aimed its missiles up at me.

The heavy unit fired its missiles at me while I was still in the air, and I swiped both my arms through the air, sending a dozen chakra needles to intercept the missiles and to disable the heavy unit. Kiba ran along the wall of a building, then shot down in _Tunneling Fang_ at three light units, who were all torn apart. Kiba landed on the ground on all fours to face a shockmace, who was blown to pieces by another _Tunneling Fang_. Akamaru flew through the air, then came back around and tore through a line of medium units. That was when a well-aimed rocket knocked him out of the air, and sent him rolling across the ground and into a building.

"Akamaru!" Kiba screamed in horror. He leaped out of the way of a second rocket, and came down on top of the guilty serge with his claws raised. The serge blocked his slash with its sword, but Kiba tore the claws on his other hand across the serge's chest, causing him to step back, and allowing Kiba to tear its head off. Before the serge had even hit the ground, Kiba galloped to Akamaru to see if he was okay. Akamaru rose out of the rubble with his hand on his forehead, seeming dazed from the attack.

That was when a guerilla landed on the ground and prepared to pounce at them. "Leave this to me, Boy," Kiba said, and he got to his fours. Kiba and the guerilla leaped at the same time, but Kiba's claws tore it to pieces, sending it cascading across the ground. Akamaru gambled up to him, and they both leaped off to go take out more Decepticlones. While I was distracted by them, a rocket hit the ground at my feet and launched me into the air. I landed ten feet away, groaning in pain and massaging my bottom. Two serges were standing fifteen feet away from me with their rocket packs open and their sword-arms raised.

I raised my chakra-shrouded palms and prepared to strike, but they both fired a rocket to counter me. I knocked both of their rockets away with my bare palms, and they flew on either side of me and smashed into the ground. One of the serges leaped at me with its sword raised, while the other one stayed behind to provide backup. I blocked the serge's strike with my bare hand, then swiped my other hand across its stomach, tearing the metal armor like a blade. I then brought my first palm back, then shoved it through the serge's head, smashing it to pieces. The serge's body dropped to the ground while the second serge fired another rocket at me. I knocked this rocket away as well and charged him head-on.

He charged me as well, and we both exchanged attacks before I swept its feet out from under him. As soon as it hit the ground I buried my palm in its stomach, tearing it cleanly in two, and I immediately leaped out of the way of a missile that decimated the serge's remains. I flew through the air while the heavy unit aimed its blaster up at me. A flash of light passed across the heavy unit, and its blaster was cleaved clean off, along with half of both missile packs. I dropped towards the ground with my hands crossed, hands shrouded in chakra, and I swiped both them outward, firing an onslaught of chakra needles at the heavy unit.

The onslaught tore the heavy unit apart, along with the ground five feet behind it, and the heavy unit fell to a hundred pieces. While still dropping, I closed my eyes while the veins around them pulsated. _I'm going to end this right now!_ I spun and flipped around through the air, sending needles in every direction, hitting dozens of Decepticlones in the precise spot that shut them all offline immediately. I landed on the ground perfectly at a kneel, and an aura of chakra flared around my body.

"Hinata…" Kiba said with wide eyes. "I don't believe it. You're telling me that all those needles you fired off…weren't even with your _Byakugan_ active?"

On the other side of the village, my cousin Neji was standing on the roof of a building, looking at us with his own _Byakugan_ active. "Brilliant, Hinata," he said out loud. "A feat truly worthy of the Main Branch." I couldn't help but smile at Kiba's awe, but I then looked to my left to see three medium units pointing their blasters at us. Bugs exploded from their bodies, tearing them all apart, and the bugs then converged next to us. Shino walked out of the bug cloud and readjusted his glasses.

"I'm starting to see a clearing in the number of enemies," he informed us.

"That was awesome!" said Moeru as she landed on the ground. Dageki and Aori landed next to her, followed by their sensei Manzen Hito and Kurenai-sensei. One of the ANBU fighting with us used a Wind Style Jutsu to blow away a serge, and he was joined by the other three remaining ANBU members.

"Hinata, where are the nearest enemies?" Kurenai-sensei asked.

I looked around with my _Byakugan_, and said, "There's a pocket of six medium units taking on two chunin, but-" The Gate twenty feet away from us exploded with tremendous force, sending us all flying in every direction. We bounced across the ground as rubble cascaded around us, and we were all spread out across a fifty-foot area. I looked at the destruction with wide eyes and saw that the Autobot Hot Shot was sprawled across the ground, half-buried in rubble. Red Alert was standing just outside the gate with his blaster half-raised, but he was hunched over and panting heavily.

The twenty drop ships they had been attempting to defend against were making a steady, uninterrupted pace into the village.


	110. Chapter 108: How They've Grown

HOW THEY'VE GROWN

The Hidden Leaf Village's gate exploded with tremendous force, sending rubble flying in every direction while Hot Shot and Red Alert flew in after it. They smashed across several buildings, their parts rolling around near them, but Hot Shot immediately got back to his feet and pointed his hand-turned-cannon at the fleet of drop ships that was making its way into the village.

"Hot Shot! Get out of there!" Red Alert warned him urgently. Hot Shot instead fired a shot that landed in the shield of the forward-most drop ship, which then pointed its own weapons down at him. Hot Shot jumped out of the way as the ground where he had been standing exploded, and a shiny yellow Cobalt SS landed on the ground and sped off. Red Alert fired a few shots from his own cannon, then transformed into his SUV form and sped off along with Hot Shot. All of the drop ships flew off in different directions around the village, while the one that had fired at Hot Shot aimed its weapons down at me.

It fired two purple blasts that collided into a wall of electricity and exploded harmlessly. One of the ANBU that had been assisting us helped me to my feet, and the remainder of our unit ran off. Two missiles floated out of either side of the drop ship, which then opened up and made way for ten smaller missiles to bombard us as we retreated, blowing most of us off our feet. Kiba flew through the air and landed on a large rock, and seemed too disoriented to get back to his feet.

"Kiba!" I screamed as I bent down next to him.

"Get going, I'll be fine!" he demanded as he shoved me away from the drop ships. He got to his feet and practically dragged me along with him, Akamaru in his owner's likeness keeping up the rear. The drop ship trailed along behind us, firing machine guns the whole way. "Shino! Can you get your bugs into the ship's circuitry!?" Kiba yelled at our teammate ten feet in front of us.

"No. Any of my bugs that go near get incinerated by its shields," Shino reported.

"Damn it!" Kiba spat. The drop ship veered to a halt behind us and fired a pair of rockets that hit the ground just behind Kiba and I and blew us both off our feet. Akamaru landed on top of the rubble surrounding us and helped me to my feet, and Kiba quickly followed suit. We made to continue running, but the drop ship came around and blocked our path, hovering between us and Shino.

"Hold on!" Kurenai said urgently. She, along with everyone still alive halted their retreat to try and help us.

A hand stretched in our direction, and a voice rang out, "_Chidori Strike!_" A bolt of lightning came down from the heavens and crashed into the drop ship, completely destroying it and sending its parts cascading across the ground. Sasuke stood on a building, looking down at us with an expressionless look. Matt appeared ten feet away and ran over to us to make sure we were okay.

"Good to see you again," Kiba greeted him.

"Yeah, same," Matt replied.

"Is that…" I asked, shielding my eyes from the sun.

"Yeah, I'll explain later," Matt told me as he looked back at his ally. Kakashi had now joined Sasuke and was looking down at us as well.

[Matt's point-of-view] _He's learned some new tricks,_ I thought to myself as I looked at Sasuke. It almost made me afraid of what would have happened if I had fought him when we reunited.

"Are you guys gonna be okay?" I asked them.

"Yeah, we're good," Kiba responded.

"Thank you, Matt," Hinata said to me.

"Not a problem, stay sharp," I advised them, and I disappeared in a burst of speed.

I reappeared on the building Sasuke and Kakashi were standing on, and Sasuke said, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's get going," I told him, and the three of us leaped off.

We flew across what remained standing of the village, and we looked for signs of anyone in desperate need of help. It seemed that most people we came across had it handled, in spite of a few complications, so we looked for anyone who was in real trouble. Three missiles shot at us from apparently nowhere, and while two of them shot past us, one of them hit the roof of the building we were currently on. The explosion caused the roof to collapse in on the building, and we were all sent plummeting down with the giant pieces of rubble.

I tore a _Chidori_ through a giant piece, while Sasuke cleaved his electrified sword through another piece, and Kakashi skillfully landed on a third piece, then leaped out of the way as a fourth crashed into it. We all landed on the ground with varying levels of grace (myself crashing like a stray torpedo), while the front wall of the building exploded from the outside, sending more rubble dropping down on top of us.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi alerted.

"I'm on it!" Sasuke said as he made some hand signs. "_Chidori Wall!_" A circuit of electricity flowed outward from his body and took the form of a wall that intercepted and destroyed the rubble, sending the tiny pieces cascading across the ground.

"Okay…and how did you know he could do that?" I asked Kakashi with a confused expression.

"Because I taught him," Kakashi answered.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I flashed back to just before our squad had taken off. _I pulled Sasuke aside while Matt was conversing with the girls, and we went behind a building where we wouldn't be overheard. Sasuke didn't say a word as he looked at me, and I was sure he had his suspicions as to what this was about. "I need to know every single technique Orochimaru has taught you since you left," I demanded. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, but he wasted no time in telling me about his _Chidori _variations, the _Senbon_,_ Sharp Spear_,_ Armor_,_ Strike_,_ Wall_…. I used this information and we devised strategies for any situation that we might come up against. _

[Matt's point-of-view] I couldn't deny that Kakashi knew everything about Sasuke from his days of being his teacher, but I still couldn't figure out how he knew what techniques Sasuke had come by. My thoughts strayed elsewhere as a lone serge marched through the dust with its sword raised. "One serge? That's it?" I said as I looked at it skeptically. Before the decepticlone even knew what hit it, Sasuke's sword cleaved it in half, sending it crashing to the ground. We all stepped cautiously out of the building, peering around the walls for any signs of resistance.

Pillars of smoke billowed above the destroyed village, while explosions and gunfire echoed throughout the war zone. "You think we should split up? Cover more ground?" I asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi answered. "But you and Sasuke stick together, it'll be better for taking on larger forces of Decepticlones. But before that we've got company." As soon as the last word left his mouth two drop ships flew over the buildings and aimed their missiles at us. "Scatter!" Kakashi shouted, and we all leaped off in different directions.

Three missiles destroyed the remainder of the building, and I landed on a nearby rooftop and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired an intense jet of fire that shot at one of the drop ships, but its shield kicked in and deflected the flames.

"_Chidori Senbon!_" Sasuke swiped his arm through the air and fired a barrage of electric needles at the ship, which yielded the same result.

"Damn! I hate those shields!" I said angrily.

"Hold on! I think I know something that might work," Kakashi said as he grabbed his headband. He pulled it up from his left eye and revealed his _Sharingan_, then said, "Sasuke, have your lightning ready." Kakashi made some hand signs, while Sasuke waited to see what kind of jutsu he would need. "_Ninja Art: Magnetic Pulse!_" Kakashi clapped his hands together, and I watched with my own _Sharingan_ as he sent a pulse of pure magnetism through the air at the drop ship.

Sasuke had his _Sharingan_ active as well, and he said, "_Chidori Sharp Spear!_" He pointed his hand at the magnetism and fired off a circuit of electricity, and it collided with the magnetism and caused an electromagnetic pulse. The pulse fried both the shields and the circuits of both drop ships, sending them both veering down and plummeting to the ground. The two crashed in a ball of fire, sending more smoke into the air, and we wasted no time in continuing our search for decepticlones. "These guys are starting to become nothing more than a nuisance," Sasuke observed as we ran.

"Yeah, say that once their leaders come swooping down," I advised him.

Three medium units and a serge stood on the roof of a building, but a _Fireball_ crashed into them and demolished the building. The serge was the only one who was left standing, and Sasuke was right behind him with his sword raised. He swung the blade, and the serge's head hit the ground. "Okay, but no, seriously, this is getting really annoying," I said to the two of them. _Maybe that's because you're two of the strongest genin in history?_ Kakashi thought to himself. While we ran, two drop ships flew overhead behind us, and the two of them transformed into jets, which then flew straight over our heads. We watched them as they veered back around and came at us once again, firing roughly ten missiles at us each.

The three of us leaped out of the way as an explosion rose above the buildings of the village, traveling in a fifty-foot line, and the jets then separated and flew in opposite directions. I ran and leaped across rooftops, and one of the jets rushed past me from behind, nearly blowing me into the air. While it flew, two objects dropped out of its cargo and came back towards me. I didn't realize what they were until they were right in front of me, and I just barely managed to cross my arms as tow massive explosions of blue electricity demolished five buildings, and sent rubble raining across the area.

A trail of smoke flew out of the clouds of electricity and smashed into the ground, sliding across it until it smashed into a building. The smoke and dust from the impact cleared, and I was laying in the crater I had punched in the wall with blood running down my face. The other jet flew through the air, and a barrage of electric needles shot up after it, but the jet's shield intercepted the attack, and Sasuke landed on a rooftop. The jet came around and started firing a mixture of lasers and missiles at Sasuke, but he disappeared in a burst of speed and let them demolish a sixty-foot area of the village.

Sasuke appeared a hundred feet in the air with his electrified sword raised, and he trained his _Sharingan_ on one of the jets flying near the ground below. "_Chidori Slash!_" He swung his sword through the air and sent an arc of electricity down at the jet, and while the arc hit it head-on, the shield still held firm. The jet then locked onto Sasuke and fired a pair of heat-seeking missiles up at him. Sasuke made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" He fired forty tiny fireballs out of his mouth down at the missiles, and when two of them intercepted and detonated both of the missiles, the explosions extinguished all but half a dozen of the other fireballs.

The jet flew through the air as the fireballs crashed into the ground in different spots, and it then flew straight up at Sasuke. The jet rammed Sasuke at full-speed, and he was knocked out of the air while blood flew down after him, and he smashed into a building. Kakashi leaped across some of the remaining rooftops in the area, and he pointed his hand at the other jet and fired a concentrated ball of electricity up at it. The _Lightning Style: Thunder Bullet_ was repelled just as easily by the shield as any of our other attacks, and the jet then fired machine guns down at Kakashi. Kakashi jumped off the rooftop just as bullets tore it apart, and he landed on the ground and ran just as the jet flew past.

As he ran, one of the buildings next to him exploded, putting a cloud of dust in Kakashi's way, and a shockmace came out with the bladed end of its staff raised. Kakashi pulled out a kunai and used it to intercept the shockmace's slash, but the shockmace then twirled the staff around and put the balled end in Kakashi's stomach, sending him flying and smashing into a building. Right at that moment, a set of missiles crashed into the very same building and caused a massive explosion to rise into the air. I landed on the ground just as a spider tank crawled over a pile of rubble, and two more shockmaces approached from another direction.

I turned around just as one of the jets came up to me, transformed once again into a craft that was built for attacking instead of speed or defense, and two barrels under the craft's nose fired a massive blast that sent me flying into the air. Sasuke landed on the roof of a building near the assault ship, and a rocket from a taller building behind him crashed into his back and knocked him off his feet. The serge that had fired the rocket stayed low inside the building, and the other jet fired a set of missiles into the building that Sasuke was on top of, destroying it and sending Sasuke plummeting into the dust cloud it created.


	111. Chapter 109: Meet Your Match

MEET YOUR MATCH

Lightning burst out from the rubble of the building Sasuke was buried in, and he jumped out and landed on top of it. His white shirt was torn from the impact, and he looked around as the jet hovered in front of him, and two shockmaces were making their way over piles of rubble. A second rocket shot at him from the building, but Sasuke knocked it away with his sword, then turned back to face the threat in front of him. I made some hand signs and fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ up at the assault ship, but it ascended out of the way, then fired machine gun bullets at me.

I just barely managed to leap backwards to avoid it, and the bullets tore the ground apart while one of the shockmaces shot up at me with its staff raised. I pulled out a kunai to defend myself, but the shockmace charged up electricity in the balled end, then brought it down on top of me, blasting me down and causing me to smash into the ground. The shockmace dropped down on top of me with its blade pointed at my gut, but I rolled out of the way just before it smashed into the ground, the electricity in its blade raising dust ten feet into the air. When the dust settled, the shockmace dragged its staff across the ground and pulled it up, sending an intense wave of electricity that I just barely managed to sidestep.

I leaped straight into the air just as the second shockmace landed right at the spot where I had been standing, embedding its blade in the ground. While I was still in the air, the two of them spun their staffs through the air, firing balls of electricity up at me. I made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I fired concentrated balls of water out to intercept and cancel out the electric balls, and right at that moment, a concentrated beam of energy grazed my shoulder, sending blood spattering through the air. I looked over at the spider tank that had fired the beam, and was now charging up for another shot, and I threw a fire-kunai down at it.

The spider tank fired a second beam, knocking the knife out of the air, and it exploded against the ground, while the beam subsided and I landed on the ground as well. Blood dropped down, and I glared at the spider tank with blood running down the side of my face from the gash that the beam had inflicted. I made three hand signs and formed a _Chidori_ in my hand, but that was when the assault ship flew over from behind, hitting me with a volley of missiles that shrouded me in a huge explosion that sent smoke rising into the air. When the smoke cleared, I was lying on the ground, and I looked up through half-opened eyes at the assault ship as it flew around and came in for another approach.

The ship flew over and dropped two metallic spheres on top of me, which then exploded with electrical energy and sent me flying through the air. I landed on hard concrete and rolled across the ground, my shirt being completely ripped off. There was blood running down my torso, but I got back to my feet nonetheless and pulled out a kunai. The assault ship came in for another missile run, but I disappeared in a burst of speed and let the volley tear the ground apart. I reappeared fifty feet in the air above the ship with the tiger sign weaved, and I said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_"

I fired the intense stream of flame out of my mouth down at the ship, but it flew out of the torrent completely unharmed, its shield disappearing from view. _Damn it! These things are pissing me off!_ I thought to myself as I dropped back towards the ground. A ball of electricity hit me in the torso and sent me flying through the air, but I quickly regained myself and looked down at the shockmace that had fired it. The spider tank was charging up another precision beam to fire at me, while the assault ship was flying up at me. It had the two barrels under the nose trained on me, but I activated a _Flight Jutsu _and flew out of its aim.

A precision beam shot up past me, and I made some hand signs, flipped upside-down, and fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ down at the spider tank. The spider tank wasn't quick enough to evade the attack, and when the flames from the impact cleared, its metal armor was badly burnt, and the tank was shuttering violently. The assault ship transformed back into a jet, and its speed instantly doubled as it shot straight at me. It fired machine guns as it approached, but I flew out of the way, the jet closely pursuing me. I flew low over some wrecked buildings, and machine gun bullets tore them up even more as the jet flew past.

I then flew down into the alleyways that the buildings built so tightly together created, and the jet had trouble keeping pace. I finally shot straight up into the air, and the jet crashed straight through a wall, coming out the opposite end of the building, and rolling across the ground, metal parts and rubble scattered all over the place. When the dust that was shrouding the craft cleared, its shield faded, but the ship was mostly in good shape. The jet transformed back into a drop ship, built for defense and withstanding attacks, it then rose back into the air, and turned back towards where it had come.

_The buildings in this joint aren't anywhere near big enough to crush that thing. And I can't waste a whole bunch of chakra on a single move, when there's still so much resistance_, I thought to myself as I watched the ship. I just barely managed to dodge a missile that shot past, and I looked over to see another drop ship approaching. "Freakin' fantastic," I said as I flew back the way I had come. Kakashi landed on the ground just after he tore a _Lightning Blade_ through a shockmace's body, tearing it completely in half, and he then used the same _Blade_ to block a blast from a medium unit. He aimed the _Lightning Blade_ at the pack of three medium units twenty feet in front of him, and he fired a _Thunder Bullet_ at them that blew them all away in a burst of electricity.

He then used a kunai to block a slash from a surge, and he kicked it away and then jumped into the air as a second one came down on top of him. While he flew through the air, he threw his kunai down at the second serge, but it blocked the knife with its sword, then fired a rocket up at Kakashi. Kakashi let the rocket fly up past him, and he then made a hand sign and let out a burst of chakra from his feet, and shot straight down at the serge. The serge activated jet boots, and shot up at Kakashi with its sword raised, and Kakashi met its attack with a second kunai. The two flew past each other, and Kakashi spun around and threw the kunai, which was flowing with electricity, up at the serge, and the blade ran the decepticlone cleanly through, causing him to drop down to the ground.

Kakashi then pulled out three shuriken and sent electricity into them as well, and he then threw them down at the other serge. The serge crossed its sword and arm to defend himself, and the shuriken landed on the ground behind it while the serge fell to pieces. Kakashi then let a missile fly past him, and the drop ship that had recently arrived was flying towards him. Kakashi shot straight at the drop ship, which fired a pair of purple, dart-shaped blasts at him, but he disappeared in a burst of speed, and reappeared on the opposite side of the ship, fifteen feet away. The drop ship's heavy armor made it slow to turn around, and Kakashi was already gone by the time it could train its barrels on him.

While Kakashi flew through the air, the drop ship trained its barrels on him, and then fired a pair of heat-seeking missiles at him. Kakashi noticed them coming, and he accelerated through the air, with the missiles in hot pursuit. Kakashi made some hand signs, then turned to the missiles, still flying backwards, and said, "_Lightning Style: Lightning Pulse!_" He clapped his hands together and generated a pulse of electricity that intercepted the missiles, immediately knocking them out of the air and sending them plummeting to the ground. The two missiles crashed and exploded, blasting two seven-foot craters into the ground, with smoke billowing into the air out of them.

Kakashi then landed on the side of a building, and shot straight at the drop ship with his hand outstretched. A ball of lightning appeared in his hand the size of his palm, but then grew so that it consumed his whole forearm, with lightning trailing behind it. "_Lightning Javelin!_" The drop ship could do nothing to react as Kakashi rammed the _Javelin_ into the shield. Kakashi pressed his technique with all his strength, and the shield finally began to shatter. The instant the shield was broken, Kakashi plowed his jutsu straight into the drop ship, instantly blowing it to pieces and sending what was left flying throughout the area.

Kakashi landed on the ground with pieces of the ship bouncing across the ground around him, and he turned around as the smoke cloud that remained began to clear. The blade of the sword swung through the air, sending an arc of electricity at the jet, which easily avoided it. Sasuke was standing on the remains of a two-story house, glaring at the drop ship with his sword at his side. The jet then came at Sasuke and fired a volley of missiles down at him, but Sasuke disappeared as the missiles ravaged the area, leveling buildings and sending smoke and dust rising into the air.

Sasuke appeared above the jet with the Tiger sign weaved, and he said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Bullets!_" He fired a series of tiny fireballs, smaller, faster, and much more concentrated than the _Phoenix Flower_, but they all bounced off of the jet's shield as it flew through the air. The jet then transformed into an assault craft, and it pulled around and flew up at Sasuke. Sasuke crossed his arms in front of him to defend himself, his sword still clutched in his hand, and the assault craft rammed into him, the shield sending him flying into the air. Sasuke was upside-down in the air, but he dropped to the ground and landed on his feet.

The assault craft came at him, firing lasers and rockets, but Sasuke swung his sword upwards, generating a wall of electricity that took the attacks, but he was still engulfed in smoke as the craft flew overhead. When the smoke cleared, Sasuke had blood running down his face, and he was looking behind him at the craft as it was coming back around for another run. Sasuke charged up lightning in the blade of his sword, to the point where all of the packed energy blew his hair about, and he prepared for the assault craft's approach. The craft locked onto him, but before it could fire anything, Sasuke said, "Eat this!"

He brought his sword up and swung it down with all his strength, generating an enormous wave of electricity that tore the ground apart as it traveled towards the craft, traveling twenty feet high. The assault craft was caught head-on, severing it cleanly in two and sending it dropping to the ground. The two halves smashed into the earth and skidded across it, trailing pieces and parts behind it, and the massive wave of electricity faded into nothingness. Sasuke was panting heavily, and his eyes weren't fully open. "What on earth was that?" Sasuke turned around to find Kakashi standing there, hand in his pocket, staring at him with an undefinable look in his eye.

"_Chidori Tensho_," Sasuke answered, still panting. "It's my strongest technique. I only use it when I absolutely have to." Kakashi simply stood there and looked at him.

Meanwhile, I flew through the air to evade the assault craft that was chasing me, and I super-sped out of the way of a volley of blasts, and I appeared fifty feet above where I started. The craft fired two homing missiles at me, but they weren't quick enough to contend with my _Flight Jutsu_, and I flew around behind some buildings, which intercepted both missiles. A ball of red energy charged up right at the tip of the craft's nose, and it fired an intense beam at the buildings, destroying four of them and sending smoke and flames in all directions. The explosion rose above the buildings so that it could be seen from a distance, and the smoke cloud that it created passed over the buildings behind the impact site.

Two kunai bounced off of the assault craft's shield, and when they hit the ground, the paper-bombs wrapped around the handles detonated, blasting ten-foot craters in the ground. I was fifty feet in the air above the assault craft, and the craft aimed its weapons up at me and fired a pair of purple, dart-shaped blasts. I flew out of the way of the blasts, and the craft shot straight up at me. I waited until the last moment and shot straight past it, and while the craft flew up, it transformed into a jet, and then shot down at me. As I descended towards the ground, I looked up at the jet quickly closing the distance between the two of us.

I turned around fully, and then broke into a smile, then disappeared in a puff of smoke. The jet, flying far too quickly to slow down, blasted through the smoke cloud and rammed into the ground at full speed, its shield insufficient to protect it from the force of the crash. An explosion from where the jet had committed suicide rose up into the air, and I landed on the ground, squatted down, facing the opposite direction. I straightened up and turned around to see the damage I had caused, with Sasuke and Kakashi behind me.

"Alright, now that that's finally over, let's get going," Sasuke said.

"Yeah," I agreed, and we all headed out.

I ran around a corner, and immediately came to a halt with wide eyes. Thirty feet in front of me, blood spattered through the air from a gash going down Nichi's torso.


	112. Chapter 110: Reality

REALITY

I watched in pure terror as one of my best friends fell at the hands of a shockmace, who was fresh from slashing her torso. Nichi dropped to her knees with blood spilling from her body, and the shockmace charged up electricity into its staff and prepared for the finishing strike. Electricity flashed through the air, and the shockmace's head flew off, and as Sasuke, standing behind the decepticlone, sheathed his sword, the shockmace's body dropped to the ground.

"_Nichi!_" I screamed. It seemed like time slowed down as she swayed over, and I skidded over on my knees and caught her in my arms. I laid her gently on the ground and examined her. The cut ran from her left shoulder down towards her right side, and it was bleeding profusely. I looked around for Taylor and Erin, and saw Erin laying face-down on the ground, half-buried in the rubble of a destroyed building, while Taylor was sitting against a tree. Both of them had blood all over them, but they didn't seem to be in as bad of condition as Nichi.

"What the hell happened here!?" I said in desperation as I looked around at the battle-scarred area. There were pieces of destroyed Decepticlones scattered all over the battleground. The buildings here seemed to show much worse states of damage than those we could see in the distance.

"It looks like an ambush," Sasuke deduced as he looked around.

"An ambush?" I said, flabbergasted.

"But there were at least twenty Decepticlones here," I deduced, looking around again.

"I know," Sasuke informed me, looking meaningfully into my eyes.

"Guh…Matt…."

I looked down with wide eyes at Nichi, whose own eyes were just barely open, and she could barely speak with all of the blood coming out of her mouth. "Nichi, you're gonna be okay!" I told her, looking around desperately for a medic. Kakashi made some hand signs, and then fired a small fireball up into the air. As soon as the fireball cleared the buildings, it exploded into a dozen smaller fireballs and shot off in all directions. I knew it would be useless to try and heal Nichi myself; I had once tried to heal Naruto, and I ended up almost killing him. Just when Nichi's breathing started to shallow did a herd of Leaf Village medical ninja arrive on the scene with equipment prepared.

Kakashi pulled me out of the way while the doctors immediately got to work on her, checking her pulse and other vitals. I could simply watch in horror, knowing full well that nothing I did at this point would help in saving her. One of the medical ninja was currently using his chakra to heal her, but I couldn't tell if it was working well or not. I was in so much desperation, praying for her recovery, that I took very little notice to the explosions echoing through the village from the war that was raging on all sides.

Eventually I noticed that her breathing seemed to be steadying, which unclenched the giant metal hand around my throat. After ten agonizing minutes, Nichi seemed to come back to life before my eyes, and I couldn't help but laugh with relief. She started groaning in pain, and the other medical ninja kept her down while the one healing her finished up. When he was done, he straightened up and walked over to Kakashi.

"She's pretty badly injured, but she'll be okay," he announced to the relief of all three of us. "We've set up a medical tent well outside the village where we should be safe from the Decepticlone invasion. We're going to take her and those other two girls there so they can recover."

"Alright, good, thank you very much," Kakashi said. The ninja bowed, and he, along with the other ninja who had Nichi, Taylor, and Erin, all disappeared. "Alright, it's time for us to split up," Kakashi said to us. "We'll be able to cover a hell of a lot more ground and prevent more instances like this. I'll cover the area between ten o'clock and two o'clock. Matt, you cover two o'clock to six o'clock, and Sasuke, you'll get six to ten. Understood?" he asked.

"Roger," we said in unison. And with that, we all leaped off in different directions.

_[Third-person point-of-view]_ The war between the Decepticlones and the shinobi had encompassed the entire Hidden Leaf. More than half of the buildings were now either rubble or too damaged to be used again, and the chaos of mass combat was evident wherever one looked. Two drop ships flew over the battlefield, each shooting a missile at a building and blowing it apart. A line of five medium units fired relentlessly in a single direction, while three Leaf ninja hid behind a wall of earth one of them had constructed, waiting for an opening. One of the medium units reached down to its waist and grabbed a black ball off of a hook.

The medium unit pressed a button on the ball, and then threw it over the dirt wall. The Leaf ninja watched it land near them, unsure of what it was, until it exploded with tremendous force, blasting a clean hole in the earth wall. One of the ninja was instantly killed while the other two were both severely injured. One of them tried to get back to his feet while blood spattered to the ground from his injuries, when a spider tank's precision beam pierced him straight through the heart, making his eyes go wide and blank. The remaining ninja looked around, blood all over him as well, while the five medium units surrounded him.

One of them pulled out a pair of metal cuffs and cuffed the shinobi's hands behind his back, forced him to his knees, and held him there while another medium unit shot him square in the head. In another area of the village, two ANBU were sword fighting with three serges. One of the ANBU blocked a strike from a serge, then knocked the robot's sword-arm into the air and cut him across the stomach. The other ANBU was skillfully fending off attacks from both of the other serges, until he grabbed the arm of one just before the blade, cut the blade cleanly off with his own sword, and then elbowed the serge in the face.

He then blocked a slash from the second serge and countered by slicing one of its legs off, and then bringing his sword down through its torso. The first serge opened its rocket pack and prepared to fire, but the ANBU ducked around, severed the rocket pack off, and then backed away as all of the rockets exploded, blowing apart the serge. The other ANBU ducked a slash from his opponent, rapidly wove some hand signs, and slammed his hand onto the ground. A giant spike of earth shot up out of the ground, impaling the serge and immediately shutting it offline.

The two ANBU looked off in the distance, then ran in opposite directions and leaped off the building as a barrage of missiles blasted the building to smithereens. Two jets shot past, then veered around and faced each of the ANBU. One of the ANBU made some hand signs and fired a _Fire Style: Fireball_ up at one of the jets, but its shield easily blocked it and left the jet wide open to cut down the ANBU. The other ANBU skillfully dodged the firepower the second jet fired at him, jumping across rooftops and trees, until the jet transformed into an assault craft. The ANBU sailed through the air, heading for a balcony, but the craft fired a rocket that destroyed the balcony and left the ANBU to drop into the pile of rubble and dust.

The assault craft sped off, while the other jet fired a volley of missiles into the dust and flew off after it. All across the village, shinobi fought desperately with decepticlone across destroyed buildings and uprooted trees. A heavy unit fired a pair of missiles as it pressed forward, firing its blaster continuously. A spider tank crawled up the side of a building that was missing two stories off the top, firing down into the crowd. Assault crafts ran bombing runs over pockets of Leaf shinobi, quickly cutting down the fighting force.

Naruto thrust a _Rasengan_ at a heavy unit, instantly blowing him to pieces. Three medium units fired down at him, but Naruto weaved in and out of the blasts in a steady advance towards the robots. When he got to them, he buried his fist in the face of the medium unit in the center, sending him flying back, while he leaped out of the way of blasts fired from the other two. He made a hand sign and said, "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" He conjured a clone on either side of him, with which he formed two _Rasengans_. The clones took the jutsu, and Naruto threw them down at the medium units, who were both destroyed as the clones rammed them head-on.

A missile shot at Naruto from behind, and he just barely had time to turn around as it rammed into his arm, blasting him out of the air and sending him plummeting towards the ground in a trail of smoke. He crashed to the ground and came out on one knee, with blood dripping down from his beaten and battered arm. His sleeve had been almost completely torn off, but he rose up nonetheless, ready for more. He stared down against two spider tanks that were marching towards him, and he made a hand sign and conjured another _Shadow Clone_. They both put their palms to one another, and formed a _Rasengan_ between them.

"Here's somethin' new I picked up," Naruto said to them. "_Rasengan…Dart!_" The clone and the original threw the _Rasengan_ itself at one of the spider tanks, and its entire body was torn to shreds while the other one charged up a precision beam. The instant before it could fire, Sakura landed her fist right into its turret, shoving the entire thing into the spider tank's body and causing it to drop to the ground. Yamato made some hand signs, and tendrils of wood shot up out of the ground and impaled half a dozen medium units, dragging them up into the air.

Yamato then put his palm on the ground, and a giant tendril came up behind him that was flat at the tip and in the shape of a square, and it shot past him and took off the top half of a heavy unit. Yamato's eyes narrowed as an assault craft closed in on him, and as it flew over, it dropped a bomb right on top of him. The explosion destroyed the two nearest buildings and gouged a crater into the ground, concealing Yamato in smoke. The smoke cleared, and a solid dome of wood had rooted itself into the ground, protecting Yamato from harm.

Meanwhile, Sai was riding on a giant bird made entirely of ink, and he had his scroll in one hand and paintbrush in another. He rapidly painted five tigers, and then made a one-handed sign. "_Ninja Art: Super Beast Scroll!_" The tigers all shot off the page, coming into three-dimensional life, and they shot down at a platoon of decepticlones that were aiming their blasters up at him. The tigers bombarded the decepticlones and tore them all apart, then stalked across the battlefield, looking for more prey.

Sai just barely managed to swerve out of the way of a pair of missiles, that as they flew up, they veered around for another attack. Sai looked behind him as the missiles approached him, and he leaped off of his giant bird just before they crashed into it, causing the bird to splatter back into ink and splash down to the ground. Sai took his tanto out of the scabbard on his waist and dove down to the ground towards a serge that had its rocket pack aimed up at him. Before the serge could fire, Sai tore his blade through the rocket pack, cleaving it straight off, and he then spun around and cut the serge's head clean off.

As he looked around for more decepticlones nearby, a precision beam ran him right through the gut from behind, knocking him off his feet. He hit the ground, groaning in pain, blood pooling on the ground under him, as he tried his best to pull himself back up. "Hold on, Sai!" Sakura ran over and bent down next to him, formed green chakra around her hands, and proceeded to heal his wound. Blood spattered to the ground nearby, and Naruto stepped back with blood dripping from a wound in his shoulder. He was panting heavily, and his pupils were slits. He made a hand sign and formed a _Shadow Clone_, and the two of them formed a _Rasengan_ with each other.

The three heavy units they were facing aimed their blasters and missiles at them, but the two Narutos concentrated their chakra, and enhanced the _Rasengan_ into a _Giant Rasengan_. "Huaaaagh!" They both rammed the _Giant Rasengan_ directly into the ground, causing a massive explosion that blasted dust into the air around them. The heavy units held off on their fire, waiting to see what had become of Naruto and his clone, and when the dust cleared, both of them were gone. "_Rasengan!_" All three of the heavy units were destroyed in unison as Naruto and two clones hit them from behind, tearing them to pieces. The two _Shadow Clones_ disappeared while Naruto hunched over, still panting heavily from lack of chakra.

Asuma brought his trench knife around, which was enhanced with wind chakra, and cut the heads clean off of half a dozen medium units with a single passing sweep. "Alright, I'm starting to see a gap in their forces!" Asuma reported. "It looks like we're finally starting to get to them!" Just as the words left his mouth, the very center of the village exploded with blue light, and a giant vortex that was sixty feet in diameter appeared over the buildings.


	113. Chapter 111: The Tides Turn

THE TIDES TURN

"Dammit, what now?" Asuma said through gritted teeth. Out of the vortex came a gargantuan ship, easily big enough to hold an entire army by itself, and it was a menacing dark-purple in color.

"Oh, Jesus," Matt said, recognizing the ship from the video feed that McKinley had shown him during the very beginning of his mission against the decepticlones. Two very large turrets on the bottom of the ship charged up lavender energy, and out of the barrels fired two blasts of concentrated energy that hit the village in spots a hundred feet away from each other, blowing away everything within twenty-five feet of them. A line of cargo hatches opened up all along the side of the ship spanning a hundred meters, and out of them flew eighty drop ships that spread out in all different directions.

"Dammit!" Matt said with a mixture of anger and horror as he saw at least twenty ships coming in his general direction. The Decepticlone mother ship was flying some sixty degrees to the right of him, and he paid very little attention to the fleet of drop ships coming his way. The mother ship fired three missiles that all hit the village in different areas, raising explosions seventy feet into the air. Matt's attention turned back to the drip ships as many of them fired missiles at him, and he disappeared in a burst of speed as they nearly leveled a hundred-foot-area of the village.

Matt knew all too well the number of lives that had been wiped out just in the past two minutes, and he also knew that he had to take down the mother ship as quickly as possible. He flew through the air, fresh from his burst of speed, and he made some hand signs and fired a _Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu_ at the drop ships approaching him. The ships' shields kicked in on cue and blocked the fire, and the ships themselves then counterattacked by firing blasts of concentrated purple energy back at Matt. Matt leaped across buildings as the blasts destroyed the area, causing dust to rise across sixty feet.

Two of the ships transformed into jets and sped off towards Matt, flying right over him and each dropping three bombs right on top of him. The combined explosion rose far above the remaining buildings in the area, sending timbers flying across two-hundred feet, and setting a smoke cloud across the scene. Matt flew out of the cloud and dropped down onto the roof of a building that had most of the windows blown out, and he looked around as the jets came in for another strike.

Matt turned around and ran in the opposite direction, the jets quickly closing in, and he leaped off the side just before a volley of missiles blew off a portion of the roof. Matt took out a kunai and some tripwire, quickly tied the wire around the handle of the knife, and threw it into a building, using it as a grappling hook to swing himself into the air. He landed on the roof of another building that had a section rising up over it, concealing himself from the jets. The center of the roof then exploded, and a guerilla flew out of the dust and landed on all fours, glaring at Matt.

Matt popped his knuckles, then pulled out a kunai. The guerilla leaped at him with its giant metal hands raised, but Matt ducked under it and let it land on the wall that had been behind him. Matt made some hand signs and fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ at the guerilla, who tried to leap out of the way but was caught at the edge of the blaze.

_[Matt's point-of-view]_ The guerilla, armor torn from the flames, flew down and smashed into the ground, but still managed to get back up and face me. Just as I was about to make my next move, the upper section of the building exploded with tremendous force, knocking me off my feet and sending giant chunks of rubble flying. One of the jets flew through the chaos, then turned around and came to a halt with its weapons trained on me. I got back to my feet with fresh blood running down the side of my face from my forehead, and I focused my attention on the jet.

Meanwhile, the other jet came around and fired a volley of missiles down at me, but I super-sped straight up into the air, avoiding the missiles as they demolished the building, and the guerilla along with it. I came out a hundred feet above the village, out of sight of both jets. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and surveyed the ruins of the Hidden Leaf, the full impact of the damage that had been caused hitting me like a brick to the stomach. I couldn't see a single building that hadn't been damaged at least a little bit from the battle.

Hidden Leaf corpses were piled all across the roads and buildings, and there was blood spatter every few feet. There were still skirmishes occurring all across the village, but it had become starkly clear to me that we were now on the verge of losing this war. I saw a circuit of electricity tear across a line of buildings towards one edge of the village, while a particularly large explosion blasted away buildings on almost the opposite side. The sun was beginning to set, where I could tell we would be at a very large disadvantage against our mechanical foes. The arrival of this enormous force of Decepticlones immediately threw the Leaf resistance into turmoil, and as I watched from the skies the death toll skyrocketed.

A missile flew up and collided into me from behind, blasting me out of the air and sending me plummeting to the ground. My _Flight Jutsu_ had been forcibly cancelled, and I looked down through half-opened eyes as the two jets from earlier shot up at me. I formed a _Chidori_ and continued dropping down on top of the jets, swerving out of the way of all of the blasts they fired up at me. I rammed my _Chidori_ into the shield of one of the jets, but I was knocked out of the way as it shot up past me, and the second one shot me three times before flying past as well.

I continued my dissent towards the ground with blood streaming from several wounds in my body, and I made the Ram sign to attempt to stop my fall. Before I could, the mother ship fired a missile directly at me, and before I could defend myself it hit me directly and demolished five-thousand square yards of the village. An enormous smoke cloud had set over the area that the missile had destroyed, concealing the scene of destruction that had resulted. When the smoke cleared almost a minute later, a large portion of the Village had been completely destroyed, with roughly sixty lives being wiped away in an instant.

I was lying on the ground, barely conscious, my vision blurred by the sunlight. As my sight gradually came back into focus, I saw Sasuke standing over me, blood on him as well. I looked around and saw that I was in an entirely different part of the village, and that we were well out of sight of the mother ship. He held out a hand, and I grasped it and let him pull me back up.

"It's over," he informed me grimly. "The Hokage's called for a full-scale retreat. The Hidden Leaf Village has fallen." I tried to see illogic in Tsunade's decision; tried to see how there was a way where we might still be able to win this, but no matter how I added it up, I couldn't help but admit that this was the best course of action.

"Come on, let's go," Sasuke said, and he turned around and leaped off.

I quickly followed him, and as we retreated, we saw the surviving Leaf ninja doing the same thing. The Decepticlones did everything in their power to try and halt us, including the jets' continued bombing runs, but many of us, including Teams Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai, along with Mako's squad, still managed to escape. "Where are we headed?" I asked Sasuke.

"Kakashi said there was an underground bunker well outside the Village that would support a large-scale army for months. Everybody's meeting there while we come up with a plan for a counterattack," he answered.

"Wait, it can support us _all_?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"It was built during the Third Great Shinobi World War. It was designed to accommodate well over twenty thousand troops. With so many of our forces having been killed in the invasion, Kakashi thinks we should be good for at least a couple of years."

"Okay, did you happen to mention to him that we don't have a couple years?" I asked him.

"I did, but he didn't respond. I don't know if he was just talking hypothetically, or if he seriously believes that we've lost our—the village," he said to me.

I decided to stay silent for the rest of the way until we finally came to a point some fifty miles away from the ruins of the Hidden Leaf. It was a massive cave with an entrance fifty feet wide, immediately upon entry it went deep underground. The remnants of the Hidden Leaf fighting force filed down the inclined cave floor, which then turned into man-made stairs, and somebody lit torches all along the walls. We eventually came to a chain-link fence that had been opened up, and we entered a massive, circular room that was about a mile in diameter, and had hundreds of hallways spanning off of it.

Going down each of the hallways were dozens of rooms, each large enough to support a family, with beds, refrigerators, sinks, toilets, and everything else that would be found in a conventional house. I eventually found out that this was where all of the injured shinobi who could no longer fight were taken to, and were currently being treated by hundreds of medical ninja, who had plenty of equipment for their needs. Meanwhile, two shinobi stood at the entrance to the cave, each making the same hand signs. When they were done, they both said in unison, "_Earth Style Sealing Jutsu: Stone Protection!_"

The entrance to the cave was magically replaced by a wall of rock, making it look as though the cave were simply a natural cliff. "Come on, let's go look for Kakashi and Tsunade," Sasuke suggested.

"You go, I have to go do something first," I said to him. He went off without a word, and I immediately ran off in another direction. I searched all of the medical wards, and as I saw the caliber of the injuries that the Leaf ninja had sustained, keeping my stomach in check became a gradually more difficult task. After having searched several dozen rooms, I finally found them. Nichi, Taylor, and Erin were all conscious, and each took on a brilliant smile when they saw me enter. They were all bandaged up from their fights, but they seemed to be doing all right.

[Tsunade's point-of-view] "How the hell could I let this happen?" I asked myself bitterly.

"Nobody could've seen what was coming," Kakashi assured me. "You made the right decision in retreating."

Sasuke was standing next to him, and I could tell he was waiting for a battle strategy. Unfortunately, Shikamaru, the person I relied on most to make our plans, was currently in the medical ward, being treated for his injuries. "Agh!" I banged my fists onto the desk in front of me, breaking it into a dozen pieces, but I barely paid it any notice. "Send word out to the other villages," I said, anger boiling in my veins. "Tell them what's happened. See if they can provide us with some backup forces. And also…" I hesitated on this last part, not sure if it was the right decision to make. "Contact Director McKinley; this is her mess, I'll be damned if she isn't the one who cleans it up."

[Matt's point-of-view] The girls had just finished telling me about what had happened to them. Apparently, they had run into a small squad of light units, but it turned out to be a trap. The three of them were detected by a sentry drone, and three drop ships came, loaded with roughly forty backup troops. I was still in shock that they managed to beat so many of them, but they were all still alive, so I wasn't about to question it. But then I noticed what was missing. What had been missing since I first discovered the three of them had been attacked.

"Hey…where are the Mini-Cons?" I asked them.

And that was when Nichi's eyes widened in horror as she remembered something awful. "They…" she began, searching for the right words, "they were all captured. By the Decepticlones."


	114. Chapter 112: Building Back Up

BUILDING BACK UP

The sun had set, and the wreckage of the Leaf Village stood, shrouded in darkness, pillars of smoke still rising from the invasion. Small pockets of Decepticlones marched through the ruined streets, each of them accompanied by sentry drones to search for survivors. Many of the squads had medium units searching through piles of rubble, checking bodies for signs of life, making sure that there were no survivors anywhere. The mother ship had gone, but there were still roughly a hundred drop ships in the skies above the village.

The Hokage's mansion had fallen victim to a missile strike, and there was now a gaping hole in the front wall, while the rest was on the verge of collapsing. Most of the Hokage Monument had been destroyed, with only small portions of the Hokage faces remaining. On top of the Hokage mansion stood a platoon of six shockmaces, standing guard behind a new Decepticlone, one that was six feet tall and wielded a double-edged staff in one hand, and had a blaster on the wrist of the other, along with wings on its back.

"Damn," I said, my face buried in my hands.

"Matt, I'm _so_ sorry!" Nichi said, distraught.

"It's not your fault," I assured her. "You just needed to worry about staying alive. The Mini-Cons were not your priority; they were there to protect you. We'll get them back. I'll make sure of it."

[Tsunade's point-of-view] "How are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm still pretty beaten up, but I'll manage," Shikamaru told me.

"Alright, we need to come up with a strategy, and quickly. I'm calling Matt, Kakashi, and Sasuke here as well, along with those SNIS agents and the girls that came with Matt. They should be here any minute." As soon as the last word left my mouth, someone knocked on the door to the room. "Enter!" I called. The door opened, and all nine of them were here, each ready to hear what Shikamaru had planned. [Matt's point-of-view] "Alright, listen up, I'm only going to say this once," Shikamaru announced. "The fact is we've lost the Hidden Leaf Village. Our home has fallen to the enemy, and we intend to get it back. We have roughly seven-thousand troops left to fight, which is less than half of what we started out with. Lady Tsunade has sent ANBU spies back to the Village to get a count on just how many we have to deal with here. They've sent back reports indicating well over twenty-thousand troops occupying the Village, and that's without their mother ship. And let's be frank; God knows how many could be on that thing.

To be perfectly honest, our chances right now of defeating them are slim to none. But Lady Tsunade has also sent word to the other Hidden Villages, and the other four Great Nations, along with the Hidden Waterfall and Frost Villages, are willing to provide us with a total of six-thousand extra troops. Special Agent Mako," he addressed, "I want you to convince your Director to provide us with as many fighters as she possibly can."

"Already done," he announced. "Director McKinley is sending every agent across the eastern coast of Asia; that's a total of three-thousand people, armed with the same kind of weaponry that the Decepticlones wield."

"Alright, beautiful," Shikamaru said. "Matt, Sasuke, Kakashi, I'm directing my next statement to you," he said to us. "We're dividing the remaining Hidden Leaf shinobi into three separate divisions, which will be led by you. Kakashi, I know that won't be an issue for you; Matt, Sasuke, you think you can handle it?" he asked us.

"Whatever it takes," I said.

"Wait just a minute," Sasuke said irritably. Everybody in the room trained their eyes on him.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just what makes you think I'm going to idly go along with your little plan here? I've got my own agenda, I could give a damn less about your village. That's your own problem."

"Are you kidding me right now?" I said, turning and approaching him. "It may be our village, but it's yours too. You should want to be on the frontlines to save it, don't you dare tell me that you're backing out, I'll kill you right now!" My voice had risen to a yell, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"Tanzaki," he said to me. "I get that you want to protect your home, but this is none of my concern. My only goal is to find Itachi and kill him. If you won't help me do that, then you're on your own."

"You selfish son of a bitch!" I spat at him. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at this insult. "How dare you turn your back on your village when it needs you the most!? Here I was, thinking you had changed at least a little bit, but it looks like I was dead wrong. Get out of here Sasuke, go get your revenge. And when you're done, I'll make sure you and Itachi have _plenty_ of time to talk things out!"

"You would really set out to kill me?" Sasuke asked. Instead of answering, I formed a _Rasengan_ in my palm. Sasuke considered this for a moment, then said, "Alright. Fine. If it means that much to you, I'll help you. But in return, once we're done, you have to drop everything and help me find Itachi. Do we have an understanding?"

"Yeah, whatever," I answered, still fuming. "I'll help you get your revenge."

"Good," Shikamaru said, more to cut the tension than anything. "My plan is that we come at them from three different directions, one after another, to catch them all off guard. If this goes smoothly, Kakashi's battalion will strike first, making all of the Decepticlones focus all of their attention on them. Once that's done, Sasuke's battalion will come in from behind to thin out their forces, and at the end of it all, Matt will attack from the side, and we'll have them surrounded. If the other Hidden Villages cooperate, I want them to come in from all different directions, hitting the Decepticlones with everything they've got. If my plan works, we should be able to take down all of their ground forces with as few casualties as possible."

"The only problem is their air forces," I reminded him.

"I believe we may be of assistance in that department." All of us looked around for the source of the voice, until we saw on the giant computer monitor at the back of the room that Optimus Prime had hacked into the system feed.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about them," I said under my breath.

"Uh, where are you guys, anyways?" Shikamaru asked, seeming to have forgotten about them as well.

"After we saw to it that as many of your people as possible managed to escape, we warped back to our own base in order to prepare for a counterattack," Optimus explained. "And we believe we've found a way past those shields of theirs."

"Do tell," Shikamaru said with interest.

"We noticed several of your people using electromagnetic pulses in order to disable one or two of their shields. We have designed a weapon that will generate an enormous pulse in order to disable _all_ of their shields. However, it will take time to charge before it may be used."

"How long?" Shikamaru asked.

"The machine will take ten minutes to warm up. During that period of time, we need you to provide us with covering fire, keeping the Decepticlones off of us until preparations are complete."

"Alright, then we'll have the SNIS agents situated solely for that purpose," Shikamaru decided.

"But there's also the issue of getting it to the center of your village," Optimus informed us. "What? It needs to be in the exact center?" I said, flabbergasted. "I'm afraid so," Optimus confirmed. "The power source of the EMP launcher will only reach a radius equal to that of your village. It would take far too much time and resources to increase it."

"Alright, if that's what we need to do, we'll do it," Shikamaru assured him.

Optimus nodded, and said, "When are you planning to make your assault?"

"It's gonna take about three weeks for all of the troops from the other villages to get here. Until then, we'll heal up our forces, and once they arrive, we'll go right into battle," Shikamaru answered.

"We'll be waiting," Optimus said, and he cut the feed.

"Alright, you all are dismissed while Shikamaru and I divide up our troops into the three divisions," Tsunade said to us. Without a word, the nine of us turned around and left. Sasuke went off in one direction, Kakashi went in another, I went with the girls, and Mako and his agents did their own thing.

"Do you guys wanna go home?" I asked the girls.

"What, are you nuts?" Erin said to me.

"Matt, the only way we're going home is if you do," Nichi informed me. I had to guess all three of them knew that would never happen, which meant that they were here to stay.

"But seriously, how good do you think our chances are of winning?" Taylor asked.

"Well, our forces will be pretty evened out, and without those damned drop ships to pick us all off, it shouldn't be too difficult," I said, although doubt was hanging in my mind. I looked up, and saw Dan, Terrones, and Dorval standing there, looking at us. "Hey, what's up?" I said, and the three of us stopped to meet them.

"Well, we were thinking of ways to improve our offensive against the Decepticlones, and I think I have a solution," Dan said to us.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] _All I have to do is take out these irritating robots, and then I can finally get my revenge against Itachi. Just as long as Tanzaki keeps his word to me._ I was suddenly brought back to reality by Naruto standing in the hallway in front of me, glaring right into my eyes.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Come with me," he said, and without waiting to see if I would oblige, he turned around and walked in the other direction. My eyes narrowed, and I wondered what this was about.

On the surface, a set of bushes rustled, and Naruto walked out of a concealed hatch, while I climbed up after him. I made sure the hatch was closed, and I rose to my feet and turned around to see him glaring at me once more. I could tell by the look in his eye what he wanted, and I put my hand on the handle of my sword. "I told you, Naruto," I said to him, "I don't really feel like fighting you, but if you're feeling frisky, then by all means."

He pulled out a kunai, and immediately charged me. I pulled my sword out of its scabbard and blocked his slash, then charged electricity into my blade, and cleaved the blade right off of his knife. I swung my sword once more, but he jumped back to avoid it, the tip of the blade cutting into his jacket. "_Chidori Slash!_" I swung my sword and fired an arc of electricity at him, but he ducked it, then conjured a _Shadow Clone_ right next to himself. The two formed a _Rasengan_ with each other, and Naruto charged me head-on while the clone hung back.

"_Chidori_ _Senbon!_" I swiped my hand through the air and fired a wave of electric needles at Naruto, but he leaped into the air to avoid them, and then came down on top of me with his attack. I charged up electricity into the blade of my sword, and swung it to intercept Naruto's _Rasengan_. We were both locked together by our techniques, Naruto suspended in the air. I took some of the electricity off of my blade to form a _Chidori_, but my eyes widened as I realized Naruto's _Shadow Clone_ was behind me with another _Rasengan_ raised.

I held my _Chidori_ out to intercept the second attack, and it easily broke through the _Rasengan_, knocking the clone back. While I was distracted, Naruto swung his knee around and landed it in my stomach, making me lose all of my concentration. He then grabbed my arm holding my sword, and rammed his _Rasengan_ into me full-force, creating a massive explosion that blasted back twenty feet. When the dust cloud that had formed cleared, I was hunched over, panting a little, with my clothes torn in several places.

_He's gotten better,_ I thought to myself. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them back up, I had my _Sharingan_ active. As soon as I did this, Naruto's pupils narrowed to vertical slits, and I knew I had a fight coming. I put my sword in its scabbard and formed another _Chidori_, while Naruto formed another _Rasengan_ with a _Shadow Clone_. We both charged each other, and when we came within five feet of one another, we thrust our attacks forward. Long before we made contact, Kakashi appeared with a _Lightning Blade_ in either hand, intercepting our attacks and blasting us both back.

When the dust I had created from hitting the ground cleared, I brushed myself off and rose off the ground. "What the hell is wrong with you two!?" Kakashi said sternly. "Do you really think infighting is what we need right now? Naruto, I get that you're angry with Sasuke for leaving the village, but really? I expected better from you. Sasuke…" he rounded on me, and my eyes narrowed, not wanting to deal with a lecture. "Go back inside. I want to talk privately with Naruto." Without a word, I turned around and walked back to the hatch.

[Naruto's point-of-view] When Kakashi was sure Sasuke was gone, he turned back to me. "Take it easy," he said. I didn't say anything, instead choosing to glare at the spot where Sasuke had disappeared into the shelter. "I understand where you're coming from, and if the situation weren't so dire, I would fully support you in a battle against Sasuke. But right now, we need all the help we can get." I took in every word he spoke, but still remained silent.

"Listen to me; once this is over, I'm actually assigning you the task of preventing Sasuke from leaving. Matt promised to help him in his vengeance against Itachi, and if he truly intends to keep his word, then we need to stop him at all costs."

My eyes widened at this, and I looked up at Kakashi and said, "You don't really think Matt would do that, do you!?"

"I don't know what to think. The Uchiha are a strange breed. Nobody can predict what they'll do next. But I need your help with this, Naruto. Do you think you can put aside your hatred for Sasuke until then?" I looked into his eyes, and I immediately realized that he was deadly serious about wanting me to fight Sasuke after we got the Village back.

"Yeah…alright," I finally said. [Matt's point-of-view]

The sun was beginning to come up, and Dan, Terrones, Dorval, Taylor, Nichi, Erin and I were running through a prairie, to a destination that Dan had kept secret. The girls were all worried about how this was going to turn out, but I was confident that this was the right decision.

_[Third-person point-of-view]_ While the Hidden Leaf Village prepared its counterattack against the Decepticlone Army, the Decepticlone mother ship hovered in the Earth's atmosphere. Inside the ship itself, a door opened to a room lined with metal, and a robotic foot stepped into the room. The mechanical eyes narrowed with a hungry triumph, as he surveyed the twelve Mini-Cons that Matt, Nichi, Taylor, and Erin had retrieved during their battles. A mechanical voice uttered a soft laugh, and Starscream said, "It's time for round two, Tanzaki…Uchiha."


	115. Chapter 113: Journey to a Close

JOURNEY TO A CLOSE

The engines roared to life, the thrusters lifted us off the ground, and we sped off. Dan, Nichi, Taylor, Erin and I were currently riding in a small ship that McKinley had provided for Dan in order to come to the Leaf Village. Clinton and Dorval, once we had arrived at the concealed ship, had gone back to the shelter in order to explain our absence. "Do you really think this is a good idea?" Taylor asked me.

"Absolutely, I do," I answered with a determined expression. Nichi was still racked with guilt over having lost all of our Mini-Cons to the Decepticlones, in spite of my constantly telling her that it wasn't her fault. And now all of that was about to be changed. "How many do you think are on Earth?" I asked Dan through the headset with microphone that went down to my mouth.

"We've gotten reports of at least a thousand in Japan alone," he answered through his own headset. The Shinobi Continent is located south of the Japanese mainland, on a small island known as Amami Island. The five of us had set out in order to collect Mini-Cons to prepare for the battle against the Decepticlones. Within fifteen minutes, we had left the Amami coastline, and were currently headed for Takarajima Island, which was approximately fifty miles north. In twenty minutes, we were there, and Dan descended onto the coastline and landed on the southern tip.

"Why don't we just take the ship and search from the skies? It'd be a lot faster," Erin suggested.

"Yeah, but we'd be a big giant bull's-eye for Decepticlone anti-air forces," Dan answered. Takarajima was around two miles long, which would make it simple for the five of us to search. "Alright, we're gonna split into two groups," Dan informed us. "Taylor and Erin, you're going to be with me. Matt and Nichi, you'll be in your own group. I noticed Nichi look down at her feet at this news, and I myself couldn't help but feel satisfied. "If any of us run into trouble, we'll light up a flare, and the other group will come running," he added.

"Gotcha," I confirmed. With that, Dan, Taylor, and Erin covered the western half of the island, while Nichi and I searched the eastern half.

After about fifteen minutes, Nichi said, "How many do you think we'll need to find in order to be able to combat them?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "What I'm most afraid of is the Decepticons using the Mini-Cons we had against us. Twelve of them combined…I don't know, that'll be pretty tough to beat. Personally, I think the best we can hope for is to find twenty of them in all. That'll at least give us a good power-boost in fighting the main war, and it should also overpower the ones that the Decepticons have."

"But what if they've gotten more since then?" Nichi asked. I honestly hadn't thought of that. The Decepticons certainly had the resources to have searched out several thousand Mini-Cons by now. The more I thought about it, the more I hoped we found plenty of Mini-Cons on this search. We had three weeks before our forces made their move, which meant we had very little time to work with.

After another ten minutes, I held my arm out to stop Nichi from moving. "Get down!" I said under my breath. We both dropped down to the ground as a beam of red light passed through the trees. I could just barely see the sentry drone the beam belonged to, until the beam subsided and the tiny Decepticlone moved on.

"Looks like we're not alone out here," Nichi said to me in a whisper.

"Be careful," I said to her. She nodded, and when we got back up, she adjusted the blaster on her forearm that she had taken precious care of ever since she got it from McKinley. Dan had also given her some of those grenades he and his team had come equipped with, known as Shock Grenades, which she kept on her belt. From here on out, we crept through the trees as silently as we could, keeping an eye out for anymore Decepticlones, particularly sentry drones. We also searched for any signs of a distress call from Dan and company, but they seemed to be doing fine.

Finally, Nichi and I hid behind a cluster of trees and looked out at a clearing made by the impact of an object entering our atmosphere. There was a ten-foot crater in the exact center of the clearing, and surrounding it on all sides was a platoon of about fifteen medium units, their blasters held and ready for combat. I looked around for anymore resistance, and located three guerillas in other parts of the woods, searching for signs of an assault.

[Dan's point-of-view] Taylor, Erin and I snuck through the woods, our blasters ready to fire in an instant. I had to admit, I was impressed with the work Matt had done to prepare them for full-on combat. I honestly expected them to jump at every noise, firing their blasters at anything that moved, rather it be enemy or a leaf in the wind. I held out my arm to stop them, and I pointed out a guerilla in the woods ahead of us. We both got behind trees, and cocked our blasters. A twig snapping made me look directly in front of me, and there was a second guerilla staring me down. The first one had heard the twig snap, and was now galloping over to assist its comrade.

I took out a Shock Grenade and lobbed it in the path of the first guerilla, and the electric explosion that the grenade caused sent the decepticlone flying into the air. The second guerilla leaped at me with its giant, metal hands raised, but I rolled out of the way, allowing it to snap the tree in two. Taylor and Erin fired their blasters at it, while the first guerilla was currently getting back to its feet to attack again. I pulled a knife out of my belt and pressed a button on the handle, and a current of red electricity flowed around the blade.

The guerilla got up on its hind legs and pointed its forelegs at me, charging up an EMP, but I shot straight at it with my Electric Knife raised. I managed to duck the EMP the guerilla fired at me, and I immediately hacked one of its forelegs off, leaving it with only one to swing at me with. I blocked the strike with my knife, then got behind its guard and slashed it across the chest. I then took a pistol out of my belt and rammed the barrel into the incision, and fired several times, until a small explosion blew out a part of the guerilla's back. I wrenched the pistol out of its stomach and let it drop to the ground, and I turned around to see that the other guerilla was on its last leg, with holes and scorch marks all over its armor.

A burst of orange light flashed through the air, and I looked towards its source and immediately knew that Matt and Nichi were at battle as well. I threw my Electric Knife right into the center of the guerilla's chest, immediately shutting it offline. I walked over and took my knife out, then deactivated the electricity and put it back in my belt, along with my blaster. "Let's keep moving," I said, and Taylor and Erin both nodded.

[Matt's point-of-view] I had heard an explosion over towards the eastern end of the island, but I paid very little attention to it. A large fire was raging out of the crater right in front of me, and three medium units were getting back to their feet, while the rest were in pieces on the ground. Nichi quickly took them out, while I made some more hand signs and used a _Water Style: Liquid Bullets _to put out the flames. I walked up to the crater that had been punched into the ground long before our arrival, and looked down into it to see a ball of bright, yellow light.

Nichi stayed at the edge of the crater while I skidded down into it, and I put my hands out to the Mini-Con shell. The light dissipated, and the shell opened up to reveal a blue robot that had a rim on its back that looked like wings. "Alright, let's see what you can do," I said. The Mini-Con immediately transformed into a tiny racecar, and then split into two separate halves, which flew over and attached to my ankles. A small smile broke out over my face, and I started running through the trees. I eventually jumped up, and a burst of pure air pressure came out of the bottom of the Mini-Con on either ankle, sending me far higher into the air than I had meant to go. I dropped down and landed on the ground, rather disappointed that this Mini-Con only boosted my jump height.

Nichi ran over, and the two halves of the Mini-Con detached from my ankles and rebuilt themselves into the blue robot. "You take that one," I said to Nichi. "He's gonna be more use to you anyways." She nodded in consent, and the Mini-Con ran over to her.

[Dan's point-of-view] Taylor, Erin and I reached the northern edge of the island to find a yellow glow shining out of a small crater that had been punched into the sand. I looked around for any signs of Decepticlones, and I then told Taylor and Erin to stay put while I went for the Mini-Con. I kept my forefinger on the trigger of my blaster pistol as I cautiously approached the Mini-Con, becoming more and more suspicious of an ambush as I drew closer and saw no signs of resistance. Finally, I was right up to the Mini-Con, and I put my hands out to it.

The glow resonating off the shell faded, and the shell itself opened up to reveal a small red robot that had a large cannon attached to one of its arms. Footsteps made me look around to see Matt and Nichi walking out of the woods to join us, and I couldn't help but notice the mechanical attachments to Nichi's legs. "Awesome," Matt said as soon as he saw the Mini-Con. "We could use someone with a little firepower."

"Alright, let's get back to the ship and continue searching," Nichi suggested.

"Not necessary," Dan said, and he reached down to his belt. He pressed a button at the exact center of it, and after a few seconds, the ship flew over the trees and descended to meet us.

[Matt's point-of-view] I simply gave an impressed nod, and the cockpit opened up to let the five of us in. We flew northeast to Kodakarajima, and as the island came into view, our eyes widened at the sight of a pair of heat-seeking missiles closing in on us from the coastline. "Guess they know we're here," I decided.

Dan pulled the ship sharply to the left, knocking the girls, who were sitting in the back, into each other, and I held on to the side of the ship. The missiles flew past, but they then veered upwards, and came down for another strike. Our ship then shot directly upwards, making me nearly lose my lunch, and the missiles continued to pursue us. That was when we did a full backflip, and Dan shot straight down at the missiles. He pressed buttons on the top of his steering mechanism, and fully automatic laser blasters shot down at the missiles, hitting and detonating them both.

Dan pressed two more buttons on his steering, and a pair of missiles came off of the belly of the ship and shot straight down at the coastline. The small battalion of medium units that had congregated there saw the missiles coming, and they all ran for cover just as the projectiles rammed into the beach, causing two explosions to rise ten feet high. "Let me out," I said to Dan. He immediately pressed a button on the dashboard, and my seat opened up from under me, puking me out into open air. I activated a _Flight Jutsu_, and then shot straight down at the beach, firing a _Fireball_ at the forces to say hi.

There were three wooden watchtowers that rose fifteen feet off the ground, each manned by two medium units. One of the watchtowers was abandoned just before my _Fireball_ smashed into it, blowing it to pieces and sending burning timber flying across the beach. Three mechanical compartments opened up from the ground itself, and an elevator rose up out of each of them, bringing a force of six light units headed by one serge. All eighteen of the light units fired their blasters up at me, but I made a wide loop out of the way, and then fired a _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ at them.

About half of the light units were destroyed, while the serges managed to block all of the fireballs with their swords, and they then each fired a rocket at me. I flew out of the way of all of the rockets, being pursued by a wave of light unit blasts. Dan's ship came around and fired a pair of missiles out at the forces, and one of them hit the ground while another hit another one of the watchtowers, sending it crashing to the ground. The entire force was in complete disarray, and they couldn't seem to organize in order to launch an effective counterstrike. There were still five serges, eight light units, and six medium units left, which would provide no challenge for us to defeat. Of course there was still the matter of those missiles to deal with.

As if in response to my thoughts, two heavy units marched out of the woods with their blasters aimed up at me. "Put the three of us on the ground," Nichi said to Dan. Dan immediately landed the ship on the beach, taking note of the light units and medium units making an advance towards them, and he took out an assault rifle and started firing and endless stream of laser blasts at them. Nichi, Taylor, and Erin departed from the ship, which then immediately rose back into the air as the girls started firing. The Decepticlones fired back, but the girls weaved in and out of the shots, and Erin's superior aim quickly got the better of the small patch of clones. Two of the serges stepped forth and each fired a rocket at them, but they all dove out of the way as the rockets smashed into the ground.

The remaining light units and medium units provided covering fire while the serges approached the girls, who all scrambled behind large boulders. A rocket blasted out a third of the rock Nichi was behind, but she continued to fire out at the serges, who blocked most of the blasts with their swords and barely felt what hit them. I bombed the serges with _Phoenix Flower_, taking out one and leaving the other badly injured. The other decepticlones fired their blasters up at me, but I flew out of the way of all of the blasts, and then lobbed several fire-kunai down at them. Most of the light units were destroyed in the explosions from the paper-bombs, while many of the medium units managed to dive out of the way.

Four heat-seeking missiles flew through the air after me, but four more missiles intercepted them, while Dan's ship flew past, firing a volley of laser blasts down at the heavy units. One of them was quickly reduced to rubble while the other one fired at the ship as it flew overhead, and I rammed a _Chidori_ right through its core compartment, immediately causing it to shut offline and drop to the ground. I then shot over at the pocket of decepticlones firing at the girls, and while some of them continued firing at them, about half of them saw me coming and trained their fire on me instead.

I barrel-rolled out of the way of a volley of blasts, and I then made some hand signs and fired a _Fireball _out at them. All of them saw it coming, but it was too late to react, and all but two medium units were destroyed by the blast. I took out two fire-kunai, and threw them at the remaining medium units, who were both blown apart in the explosions. All five of us waited for more resistance to pop out, but after two minutes of silence, Dan flew over and landed on the ground near the girls, and I quickly followed. "I wonder why there were so many more Decepticlones than on that last island," Nichi pondered.

Dan and I looked at each other meaningfully, and Nichi, Taylor, and Erin both looked between us. "What? What is it?" Taylor asked.

"Think about it," I said to her. "What is the goal of the Decepticlones? What's the whole reason they're here?" With this, all of their eyes widened.

"The Mini-Cons," Nichi elaborated.

"Exactly," Dan said. "It's a pretty safe bet that there's a Mini-Con on this island: a very dangerous one that could make the difference in this war."

"Alright, then," I said. "Let's go find it."


	116. Chapter 114: Take Back the Leaf

TAKE BACK THE LEAF

[Shikamaru's point-of-view] "Alright," I said. "All of our backup forces are here, and we're ready for the assault."

"You're forgetting someone," Naruto said to me.

"Agh, are you serious?" I asked irritably. "They're still not back yet?"

"Where did they even go?" Sakura asked.

"My best guess would be to look for other Mini-Cons to help win the war," Kakashi answered.

"Well, we can hardly do this without them," Naruto implored.

"Yeah, I know," I said, folding my arms and closing my eyes to think. "Alright, they've got six hours to get back here, or we're leaving without—"

"Without who?" Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sai, Terrones, Dorval, Lady Fifth and I all looked around to see Matt, Dan, Nichi, Taylor and Erin standing in the entrance of Lady Fifth's office. All of them were wounded from battle, but they all had confident smiles on their faces, particularly Matt. I also noticed that they were decked out in at least fifteen different weapons that they definitely hadn't had when they left.

"I see your mission was a success," I said to them with a straight face.

"What does it look like?" Matt said to me. "Although, we honestly couldn't have done it without…this guy." He took a purple machine with a green panel that went over his eye off, and threw it in the air, where it transformed into a small robot.

"What does he do?" Naruto asked.

"We found him on Kodakarajima," Matt informed him. "He locates all other Mini-Cons on the planet and pinpoints them into the scanner for easy tracking. I was honestly shocked when I saw how many were on earth."

"Yeah, and how many were there?" I asked.

"Easily over a million," he answered. "We'd have gotten more if we could have, but we got too badly injured during all of our fights, so we had to stop and rest a lot."

"Well, are you ready for what's coming?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, we're ready," Matt answered, his triumphant grin finally being replaced by a look of seriousness.

"Good. The Autobots have hacked the Decepticons' systems, and managed to gain control of their Warp Gate, so that we can use it to teleport their EMP weapon right into the center of the village, along with all of the backup troops that Director McKinley sent. All of the shinobi will be waiting in the woods surrounding the village, and the moment that the Autobots are in position, Kakashi's platoon will move in, and the next battle will begin."

"What happens when their ships make bombing runs on the EMP?" Matt asked.

"We've already got that covered," Terrones said to him. "McKinley sent a massive shield generator that should be powerful enough to hold off the drop ships for just long enough."

"Alright, then, are we ready to take back our home?" I said to the room at large.

"Let's take them down," Matt said with a small smile.

[_Third-person point-of-view_] At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Kakashi's battalion was hidden in the woods outside the village, looking at the ruins of what used to be their home. Kakashi himself was at the front of the troop, and all of them were waiting for the Autobots' arrival. They paid careful attention to make sure they weren't spotted by the Decepticlones in the village. Much of the Hidden Leaf gate had been knocked down by the Decepticlones in order to ensure that they could easily see any assaults coming.

Several people were high into trees with their fingers placed against each other in a circle, and they were looking through them towards the village. The space between their hands had been magnified by chakra several times so that they could view what was going on in the village without being seen.

[_Kakashi's point-of-view_] I appeared beside one of them, looking in the same direction he was. "What do you see?" I asked him quietly.

"Decepticlones," he replied. "Thousands of them, situated across the entire village. If it weren't for the extra troops that the SNIS and the other Hidden Villages provided, we wouldn't stand a chance."

"Any sign of the Autobots?" I asked.

"Not yet, but it can't be too much longer now," the shinobi answered.

Right at that moment, an ANBU Black-Ops member appeared next to me. "All of the other troops are ready," he reported.

"Good. As soon as the Autobots arrive, we move out." For another twenty minutes, we all just sat there, waiting for the vortex to appear. Shikamaru had joined the troops in the trees, surveying the village for troop movements. However, it wasn't until Decepticlone patrols had completely cleared the area that a burst of blue light rose forth from the center of the village. The giant vortex appeared from out of nowhere, grabbing the attention of every Decepticlone within seeing distance.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he viewed this, and a massive machine was rolled out of the portal by the Autobots. The machine consisted of a square base with a control panel rising up on the side, and in the middle was a cylindrical support topped with a sphere that was eighteen inches in diameter. A blue ring ran around the face of the sphere, and a line of similar nature ran down the support. Meanwhile, Three thousand people poured out of the portal alongside the Autobots and the EMP, all wearing black sweatshirts and sweatpants, and armed to the teeth with rifles, pistols, grenades, energy blades and the like.

Three of them rolled out a device that rose six inches over their heads, and looked very similar to the EMP generator. Almost immediately after they stepped out of the vortex, a dozen drop ships flew overhead and dropped bombs on top of them. One of the SNIS agents started typing on the keyboard of the shield generator, and a dome of transparent, blue light extended from the generator, but not before many of the bombs landed in the crowd, killing a total of eight agents and wounding twenty more. The shield covered the EMP and a third of the SNIS troops, while the other two-thousand engaged in firearm combat with any Decepticlones who were nearby.

"_Now!_" I called. A total of around two thousand Hidden Leaf shinobi charged out of the forest towards the Leaf, and many of them made hand signs and fired off _Fireballs_ and _Phoenix Flowers_ at the Decepticlone troops. Some managed to evade the assault, while roughly sixty Decepticlones of all kinds were decimated, along with several of the few remaining buildings. About thirty of them fired back at us, but we all pulled out kunai knives and blocked the blasts.

I made some hand signs and called out, "Kyoshi!"

The sensei of Amachi Lee made hand signs of his own and said, "_Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!_" He sucked in, and then spat out a giant tendril of water that took the shape of a dragon as it flew into the air.

I then said, "_Lightning Style: Thunder Bullets!_" I held my palm out and fired three balls of concentrated electricity at the _Water Dragon_, which electrified it as it came down on top of the Decepticlones. The electrified _Water Dragon Jutsu_ raged through the enemy forces, the electric charge devastating their circuitry, and when all was said and done there were only half a dozen medium units in immediate sight. A serge landed on a building and fired a rocket down at us, but the person it flew at let out a circuit of electricity that blocked the rocket, and we kept coming.

I could tell that their forces were in complete disarray, and I could only imagine what damage the extra two-thousand troops in the center of the village were doing. Within seconds, we were at the edge of the village, and all of us leaped high into the air and came down on top of the hundred or so Decepticlones facing us. The Decepticlones fought back, managing to shoot several of us out of the air, but we quickly overpowered them, and then went deeper into the village. A fleet of five jets flew overhead and dropped bombs on top of us, but we mostly managed to clear the areas where they fell save for five casualties and fifty or so minor injuries.

A tongue of fire rose into the air, and then came crashing down on top of a pack of light units, who were all wiped out. Several heavy units fired into the crowd, killing a few shinobi here and there, but that was when four ANBU Black-Ops came overhead, and fired a _Phoenix Flower_, two _Fireballs_, and a _Dragon Darts Jutsu_ that wiped out all four heavy units. Several more jets dropped bombs on us while assault crafts fired missiles, and the combined attacks slowly began to thin out our forces.

"_Lightning Style users!_" I called. All at once, hundreds of electric pulses flew straight up into the air from our forces, and they all exploded into EMPs that disabled the shields of over twenty of the ships that were attacking. But while that was a start, it was a small fraction of what we still had to contend with. I made some hand signs and leaped straight up into the air. Several of the jets locked on to me, but I held out my palm to them and said, "_Lightning Style: Thunder Bullet!_" I fired several balls of concentrated electricity at the jets, and two of them were knocked out of the air while the rest managed to dodge them.

An ANBU member who was wearing a white cloak landed on the side of a building, and he then leaped up alongside me to face the ships. He made some hand signs and pointed his hands at two different jets. "_Fire Style: Spiraling Blaze Jutsu!_" An enormous stream of flame burst out of both of his hands, and they were spiraling violently, like a twister. The _Spiraling Blazes_ flew through the air, taking out half a dozen of the ships and sending them plummeting to the ground. One of the jets fired a missile at the ANBU, but he brought his jutsu in and intercepted the missile, destroying the jet that fired it at the same time.

A volley of blasts flew up at him from below, but the ANBU swung one of the _Blazes_ around, bringing it across the ground and destroying a broad line of Decepticlones, along with several buildings that they were situated in. "_Ninja Art: Chakra Pulse!_" A single pulse of chakra bust out from the ANBU's feet, propelling him through the air, and two jets flew behind him, locking onto him with their weapons. The ANBU made even more hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Crescent Flame Jutsu!_" He threw both arms out to his sides, sending out several arcs of flame that flew back at the jets.

One of them barrel-rolled out of the way, while the other one was destroyed and sent plummeting to the ground. The other ship fired an automatic laser blaster at the ANBU, but he dropped out of the way, allowing the blasts to ravage the buildings in front of him. He landed on a roof with the jet in hot pursuit, and he then leaped back up into the air and spun around. While still in the air, he made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fire Wall!_" He partially removed his mask so that his mouth was exposed, and he blew out a torrent of flame that took the form of a giant wall between him and the jet.

The jet, traveling far too fast to be able to dodge, rammed straight into the _Fire Wall_, which completely destroyed it and sent what was left flying past the ANBU. The ANBU dropped down and landed on the ground, and he pulled out a sword from a scabbard on his back. He grabbed the hilt with both hands, and fire flowed off the blade. He shot across the ground at three serges who had their own swords raised, and the ANBU rushed past all three of them, severing one completely in two, and cutting a large gash in the metal of one of the other two. The third one spun around and fired a rocket at him, but he blocked it with his blade, and then pulled out three shuriken.

All three of them became engulfed in flames, and he threw them at the serges, one at the injured one, two at the other. The shuriken cleaved right through the serges' swords—along with their bodies—and shut them both offline. The ANBU then leaped out of the way just before a bomb hit the ground where he had been, raising an explosion that blew out the wall of the building nearest to it. The ANBU dropped down and landed on the roof of a building, cutting a medium unit in half, and he shot down into the ground, taking out a light unit on the way.

It soon became starkly clear that the Decepticlones in the immediate area were beginning to be overrun by our forces, and many of them were focused on trying to breach the shield put up by the SNIS troops while the Autobots prepared the EMP. An ANBU member wearing a black cloak appeared next to me and said, "Decepticlone reinforcements are arriving from other parts of the village."

"Good," I said, and I made some hand signs. I spat out a small fireball straight up into the air, and when it cleared the village buildings, it separated into a dozen smaller fireballs that shot off in every direction.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] "Okay," I said with my sword over my shoulder, ready to lead the twenty-five hundred troops behind me. "That's the signal."


	117. Chapter 115: Frontal Devastation

FRONTAL DEVASTATION

"Okay," I said, "that's the signal." I immediately charged out of the woods we were hiding in, which were at a one hundred degree angle to where Kakashi and his battalion had been hiding, and the force of over two thousand troops followed suit. We followed the same approach strategy that Kakashi did, firing long-range jutsu of every element at the Decepticlones who were beginning to make their way over to the other battle. Many of them within sight were destroyed, causing other troops to stop to see what was going on now.

Several drop ships veered off course and came in our direction, transforming into jets and assault crafts as they came. A line of heavy units and spider tanks fired missiles and precision beams at us, but we all leaped into the air to avoid the assault, coming down on top the Decepticlones in one, massive attack. I landed on the roof of a building that was occupied by three light units, and I swung my sword through the air, causing them all to fall to pieces. Several explosions rose up around me from various jutsu fired by my battalion, and the building I was standing on shuddered with their power.

Reinforcements were starting to pour in from other parts of the village, but they were split between trying to fight us, and fending off Kakashi's battalion. Several drop ships fired missiles down at us, killing miniscule numbers of troops, but I already knew that if we didn't take out their shields soon, they would become a problem. "Jiki!" I called. A man with long, dirty blond hair framing his face and falling to the small of his back, wearing the standard Hidden Leaf uniform, made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Magnetic Pulse!_"

He clapped his hands together and fired a wave of pure magnetism up into the air, and I formed a _Chidori_ in my hand and fired a _Sharp Spear_ up at it. The _Spear_ hit the _Pulse_, generating an EMP that disabled the shields of the three drop ships nearest it. I charged up electricity into the blade of my sword, and then swung it through the air, firing an arc of electricity at one of the drop ships. The ship, which was far too heavy to move out of the way, tried to veer to the side, but was still hit head-on, losing a large chunk out of its port. A tendril of fire shot up into the air at the drop ship and drilled into its nose, coming out the engines and causing it to tear to pieces.

I swung my sword through the air, firing off a _Chidori Slash_ through the air that tore through a line of light units until it smashed into a building. A heavy unit marched around a corner and fired missiles and blaster shots at us, but I put my sword in its scabbard and fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ at it. The heavy unit took the _Fireball_ head-on, but when the flames cleared, in spite of all the damage to its armor, it was still standing and ready to fight. Our forces took to the buildings, taking out all of the Decepticlones that were situated there, and the heavy unit was quickly overrun and fell to the ground.

Ships, jets, and assault crafts started appearing in the air overhead, running bomb strikes on our troops, until several waves of magnetism flew up into the air. I generated a _Chidori_ around both of my hands, and I swung them both through the air, sending two waves of electric needles through the air at the _Magnetic Pulses_. The electricity reacted with the magnetism, and about twenty EMPs tore through the air, disabling the shields of the aircraft within the immediate vicinity and leaving them as open game.

"Take 'em down!" I called. A plethora of elemental jutsu flew up into the air at the ships, and while they all attempted to swerve out of the way, many of them were quickly shot down and sent crashing to the ground. Decepticlones took to the rooftops to try and take us down, but it was a lost cause as they only managed to wound a few of us before we blew them right off their buildings. After another two minutes of full-scale war, I made some hand signs, and fired a _Fire Style: Ember Shot _straight up into the air. The fireball rose above the buildings and dispersed, and sixty seconds later, explosions rose up from the final third of the village—the third that Matt was assigned to assault.

It started to become clear that the Decepticlones were beginning to become disoriented, trying to defend against the multi-directional attack. Serges started congregating and firing missiles into the crowd, but many of us, but I leaped into the air along with about thirty other people, most of whom were ANBU, and we drew our blades and came down on the serges. A few of us were shot out of the air, and I rammed my electrified blade into the blade of the lead serge. I slowly cleaved my sword through his, and that was when he opened up his rocket pack and prepared to fire.

My eyes widened as I realized that I couldn't fend off the sword and the rocket at the same time, and I leaped up into the air just before the rocket fired, flying off into open air. While still ascending into the air, I fired a _Chidori_ _Sharp Spear_ right down at the serge, piercing him through the chest, and leaving him hard-pressed to move. He grabbed the _Spear_ with his hand, but I swung my arm around, tearing the electricity through his body, and he dropped to the ground. I landed back on the building and immediately blocked another serge rocket with my sword, and I made some hand signs and fired a _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ out at three serges on a building next to mine.

Two of them managed to block all of the tiny fireballs that flew at them, but the third was hit in the leg and the chest, forcing him to one knee. In spite of this, he fired a rocket at me, but I sidestepped it, and fired a _Chidori_ _Senbon_ at him. The serge managed to block about half of the needles with its sword, but all of the rest made direct hits into its body, and the serge swayed over and fell off the building. The other two serges leaped into the air and came down at me with their swords raised, but I blocked them both with my own blade, and they landed on the rooftop right in front of me.

I struggled with them for a few seconds until I pulled some of the electricity off of my blade and formed a _Chidori_ on my other hand, which I tore through both of their chests, causing them both to stumble back. With their guards down, I charged in and cut them both severely with my sword, making them both fall face-first onto the roof. I then disappeared in a burst of speed, tearing like lighting across the battlefield, taking out decepticlone after decepticlone.

[Matt's point-of-view] "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired off a stream of white-hot flame at a one-story house infested with light units, and the explosion that resulted sent burning timbers and robot limbs flying in all directions. I was leading twenty-five hundred troops against the Decepticlones, and we were quickly overrunning the immediate resistance. But the Hidden Leaf was big, and I was sure that there had to be plenty more Decepticlones in other parts of the village. Within two minutes of my battalion's assault, a couple dozen aircraft appeared overhead, dropping bombs on our troops and slowly dwindling down our forces.

But we quickly implemented the EMP combo, and now we could fight back against the ships. However, this was merely a temporary solution, and there were plenty of ships still out of range of our attacks. After ten minutes of furious fighting, my battalion broke through their defense forces, and we started flooding the streets of the village. It turned out that the Decepticlones had quickly built metallic structures all along the ruins of the Leaf, and they were currently occupying them in order to gain an advantage over us. Along with this, they had also infested the few remaining buildings that had originally stood in the village.

I fired a _Fireball_ at a two-story decepticlone structure, and while most of it was momentarily set ablaze, the flames quickly died, and the Decepticlones inside were free to fire back. I leaped up and flew through the top window of the building, and I then leaped up just as the Decepticlones inside fired on me. I landed on the ceiling with the Tiger sign weaved, and I fired out a _Fire Style: Ember Shot_ into the exact center of the room. The fireball separated into the dozen tinier fireballs, and all seven of the light units that were in the building were hit directly, knocking them all off balance.

I then aimed a red blaster mounted on my wrist at them, and I pulled the trigger, sweeping the blaster through the air as I did so, and a stream of blasts shot out of the barrel, killing all of the light units. I dropped down and landed on the floor, with smoke coming out of the barrel of my Mini-Con, Skirmish. I walked over to the window and looked out unto the battlefield, which was completely overtaken by fighting. Pillars of smoke billowed up over the buildings in the distance, and there were explosions all over the place.

I just barely managed to move my upper body out of the way of a heavy unit's missile that flew into the building, but when I looked down into the crowd, I couldn't distinguish the one that had fired at me. While looking at the span of shinobi fighting as hard as they could against Decepticlones, I just barely noticed an assault craft flying overhead, dropping bombs on me as it went. My eyes widened, and I leaped out of the building as fast as I could just before it was blown to pieces. I landed on the ground, and three light units approached me with their blasters aimed at my chest.

I aimed Skirmish at them and started firing, but before I could kill more than one, two blasts hit me in the chest while one hit me in the arm, and I dropped to the ground with blood streaming from my wounds. The two remaining light units pointed their blasters at me, but I fired Skirmish into the head of one, and then leaped into the air to avoid the blast from the other. While flying in a high arc over it, I threw a kunai down at it, landing it in the collar of the light unit. I landed ten feet behind the robot, and the paper-bomb around the handle of the knife detonated, blowing the light unit to pieces.

I activated a _Palm Healing Jutsu_ and started healing my wounds, but I was cut short by two spider tanks that were marching up buildings aiming their turrets down at me. One of them charged up a precision beam, which I leaped up to avoid, and the other one followed through by firing a volley of blasts at me. I pulled out a kunai and used it to block the blasts as I dropped back down to the ground, and I landed on the ground with the Tiger sign weaved. I fired a _Fire Style Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ at both of the spider tanks, and they were incapable of getting out of the way fast enough.

The tiny fireballs bombarded them, and they dropped down and smashed into the ground in pieces. The barrel of Skirmish rotated on its pivot that was attached to my wrist, being replaced by a much wider barrel that was attached to a purple base. I pointed this new weapon at a clueless medium unit and fired a black sphere covered in spikes. The spikes stuck in the armor of the medium unit, who looked down at it with what was obviously confusion. Before it could figure out what was going on, the limpet mine exploded, blowing the medium unit to pieces.

Another drop ship ran a bombing strike across my path, and I barrel-rolled out of the way just before the bombs came crashing to the ground, blasting up smoke, dust, and rubble. My battalion slowly pressed forward into deeper parts of the village, and while the Decepticlones put up a valiant fight, they were scattered by the four battalions attacking from all sides and in the center.

[Dan Mako's point-of-view] The three thousand SNIS agents were firing relentlessly at Decepticlones on all sides, while the giant shield generator protected them from counterattacks. There were about twenty assault crafts and jets running bombing strikes on the shield, but none of them were making any leeway. Meanwhile, Red Alert was typing on the control panel to the EMP, Optimus Prime made some last-minute adjustments to the machine itself, and Hot Shot assisted the agents. After another thirty seconds, Red Alert said, "Alright, it's ready!"

"Fire it now!" Optimus said, and he jumped off the EMP and ran away from it just as electricity started running up the support.

"Wait a minute!" I said to Red Alert. Once this thing goes off, won't you be disabled as well?"

"No," Red Alert answered as he prepared to fire. "The drop ships' shields have been calibrated differently than the Transformers in order to avoid a massive EMP strike. We've adjusted the EMP so that it disables only the shields' circuitry. Unfortunately, this also means that the Decepticlones will still be able to fight as well."

I didn't question this any further, instead choosing to take on four medium units that were right in front of the shield and trying to breach it. "Alright, I'm firing now!" Red Alert called. He pressed a button on the control panel, and an intense burst of electricity emitted from the sphere, passing over the agents and the Autobots without any effects as well. The EMP immediately destroyed the shield protecting us on contact, and it traveled throughout the entire village, passing over the drop ships and causing electricity to erupt around their hulls. The Decepticlones were also unaffected by the EMP, which traveled right to the edge of the village before dissipating.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] "_Sentoki!_" I called as soon as the EMP passed over us. A nineteen-year-old chunin made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Heat Missiles!_" His hands became surrounded in fire, and he swung them both through the air. Twenty tendrils of fire sprung off of his hands and flew straight up into the air, and then they broke off in all different directions. Each of the _Heat Missiles_ hit the drop ships, and without their shields to defend them, about fifteen drop ships were blown out of the air and plummeted to the ground.

The tumultuous cheers of the shinobi echoed all throughout the village, and even as we gave the Decepticlones everything we had, hope started to spread that we might be able to win this war after all. But just as troop morale was at its peak, something incoming from above caught our attention. I looked up into the sky, and saw meteors coming down from the heavens. One crashed into one part of the village, and then another crashed into another part of the village. And then another; four, five, six, eight meteors crashed to the ground, all in different parts of the village, and dead silence engulfed the war.


	118. Chapter 116: Divide & Conquer

DIVIDE & CONQUER

[_Third-person point-of-view_] All of the shinobi were frozen in a mixture of shock and foreboding, wondering what could possibly have descended upon them now. The Decepticlones showed tremendous honor in allowing the shinobi to witness this new phenomenon unopposed, although some such as Kakashi and Shikamaru felt that his was their way of relishing in the moment. Many shinobi who weren't currently facing an enemy gathered around the craters that the meteors had punched into the ground on impact, wondering what was about to happen.

When the dust from the impacts cleared, the meteors themselves turned out to be mechanical. Matt, who was right beside one of the craters, narrowed his eyes, having an idea of what was about to happen. Parts on the meteors started extending out, and large chunks pivoted around, planting themselves on the ground and raising the main body into the air. As the transformations unfolded, Matt's eyes widened, and he said, "Oh, Jesus." When the transformations had completed, there were eight twenty-foot-tall robots towering over the shinobi.

Before the shinobi could even react, the robots spawned guns and started firing. "_Retreat!_" Matt yelled. He and his battalion made a full-scale retreat from the Decepticons, who quickly cut them down. "Get into the buildings!" Matt ordered. The shinobi poured into the metal buildings that the Decepticlones had been hiding in, but the Decepticlones were too few in any individual building to defend against the mass of ninja that faced them. As soon as all of his battalion were safe in the buildings, Matt turned around and faced the Decepticon, who stomped towards him with a large wrist-mounted cannon aimed down at him.

[_Sasuke's point-of-view_] "Is everyone out of the way!?" I called as I looked around. The area was clear, and I pulled out my sword, electrified the blade, and leaped up onto the roof of a nearby building to gain a better vantage point against the Decepticon. The twenty-foot-tall robot extended blades of its own off of both of its wrists, and uttered a mechanical growl up at me.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I didn't hesitate in pulling my headband up to reveal my _Sharingan_, and the Decepticon stomped towards me, without even drawing a weapon.

[Naruto's point-of-view] I was on a rooftop near Kakashi, and I had a kunai out to combat the Decepticon that was climbing over the buildings on all fours, growling at me like a robotic wolf.

[Dan's point-of-view] All of us pointed our blasters at a Decepticon wielding a very large cannon, knowing that victory here looked slim at best. But that was when a truck horn sounded, and the crowd made way for a blue long-nose truck with red flames painted on it that charged towards the Decepticon. Arms came out of either side of the truck and punched the ground, sending the body into the air, which barrel-rolled as it transformed into Optimus Prime. Optimus tackled the Decepticon before it could fire off its cannon, and the two went rolling across the ground.

Optimus got to one knee while the Decepticon rolled straight into a building, but he quickly recovered and started getting back up.

[_Third-person point-of-view_] All at once, the three remaining Decepticons were opposed by Team Asuma, Team Kurenai, and Team Guy respectively. While there were still small skirmishes between shinobi and Decepticlones, almost all attention was on these final battles.

[_Matt's point-of-view_] "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" The first attack of the fight, which I fired solely to test the Decepticon's strength, was easily dodged when he barrel-rolled out of the way, allowing it to simply fly past. He fired his cannon back at me, but I leaped into the air to avoid it, and the shell rammed into a metal building, shaking it violently and nearly upending it. _Damn. Guess I have to be a bit more careful about where I let those things go,_ I thought to myself. I couldn't let those buildings get destroyed, because my troop was crammed into every one.

The Decepticon pointed his cannon at me again, but this time, I made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Shield!_" I bent down and slammed my palm into the ground, and a slab of earth rose up to defend me, which the artillery completely obliterated. I was fifty feet in the air, and the Decepticon looked up at me just as I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired an intense jet of flame down at the Decepticon, but he pointed his cannon up at it and pulled the trigger, and the shell burst right through the flames I just barely managed to swerve out of the way of a fatal hit, but the bullet hit me in the shoulder, sending blood spattering out behind me.

I dropped down and crashed into the ground, and blood pooled under me from my wound while the Decepticon stomped towards me. I immediately used a _Palm Healing Jutsu_ to begin healing myself, but it became clear that I wouldn't be able to completely heal my wound before the Decepticon reached me. And indeed, long before the bleeding stopped, the massive robot was standing right over me with its gun pointed down at me. "Now fall," he commanded, "to the power of Breakdown!"

He fired his gun, and the shell brought up a five-foot-tall cloud of dust around me. When the cloud cleared, there was simply a crater in the ground with no body to be found. Breakdown looked around, and he saw me on one knee, fifty feet away, facing the opposite direction but looking over my shoulder at him. I was panting heavily, but I had my _Sharingan_ active. "Okay," I said, "let's see what this thing can do." I got back to my feet, glaring at Breakdown with my eye jutsu, but he fired his cannon at me once again. I disappeared in a burst of speed, and the shell blasted a crater into the ground.

I appeared fifty feet in the air, and I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu down at him, but he transformed into a pickup truck and sped out of the way. The fireballs followed him as he went, but he managed to swerve out of the way of them, allowing them to either fly past or smash into the ground. As soon as he was clear, he transformed back into robot mode, launching himself into the air, and he fired his cannon at me once again. I super-sped out of the way and reappeared on a building right next to him with the Tiger sign weaved.

An explosion sent smoke and flames into the air, and Breakdown jumped backwards out of the carnage with barely a scratch on him. I reappeared right in front of him with a _Chidori_ active, and I tore it through a part of his chest, leaving a wide incision there. "Agh!" Breakdown fell back and crashed to the ground, and I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ to keep myself elevated while I made some more hand signs. "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a wide torrent of flame down on top of Breakdown, and he was blasted back by the attack, gouging out the ground as he went.

As soon as he came to a stop, he fired a shot right into the flames, but I came out right behind him with yet another sign weaved. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" My combination had already torn chunks out of Breakdown's armor, and this final attack tore his arm clean off and knocked him down onto his face. I dropped down and landed on the ground, waiting to see if Breakdown would get back up. Sure enough he did, and he seemed far angrier than he had been at the start of this fight. "You want more?" I asked him as I prepared to go in again.

"Hah! Don't give me that crap, you insect! I've been going easy on you so far, but no more! I'll make sure you're a bloodstain on the bottom of my foot!" With this, he brought his fist down on top of me, but I leaped backwards out of the way just as it crashed into the ground, bringing up dust. Breakdown then grabbed his severed arm and put it back into its joint, where the machinery reattached the limb so that it was good as new. A contraption opened up around Breakdown's forearm, and it revealed four missile launchers that were locked and loaded.

My eyes widened in horror, and Breakdown fired all four missiles at me. I leaped up into the air to avoid them, but all four missiles followed me, coming at me from all directions so that I had nowhere to dodge. I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Giant Air Shield!_" The air around me condensed into a sphere that was twenty feet in diameter, and the missiles rammed into it. The combined power of the missiles caused an explosion that sent smoke and embers flying fifty feet out from me. I dropped out of the smoke cloud with my arms crossed to protect my face, and Breakdown fired another shot from his cannon at me.

I activated a _Chidori_ and used it to intercept the shell, but as I swung my jutsu to knock it away, its momentum jerked my arm back, and a sickening crack echoed through the air. Pain shot through my entire limb, and my eyes were wide in shock, unable to believe what had just happened. Breakdown broke into a grin as he realized he had the advantage, and he loaded more missiles into his launcher. I was in too much pain to avoid them as he fired his missiles at me, and they all crashed into me just before I hit the ground, causing another massive explosion that rocked the buildings closest to it.

The smoke and flames from the blast cleared, and I was standing on bent knees with blood all over me, using a _Palm Healing Jutsu_ to fix my broken arm. Breakdown immediately figured out what I was doing, and he pointed his cannon at me once again and fired. I super-sped out of the way, coming out above him with a _Rasengan_ in my hand. Breakdown put his arm up to intercept me, and I rammed my jutsu directly into it, but his heavy armor kept me from putting more than a large dent into it. My eyes narrowed as I realized what was about to happen, and before I could do anything about it, Breakdown swung his arm outward, knocking me away with all the force he could muster.

I was sent flying through the air, and I smashed into the ground a hundred yards away, raising a line of dust twenty feet long. Breakdown then followed through by firing a third volley of missiles at me. The missiles weaved around the buildings between Breakdown and I, and they eventually made their mark, raising a massive explosion that rose sixty feet in the air. I flew out of the smoke, my eyes closed and my clothes in ruins, and Breakdown transformed into his pickup form and sped towards me. My eyes opened halfway, and I just barely saw him coming.

When he was fifty feet away from me, he transformed back into his robot form and charged towards me, loading his cannon to fire. Breakdown pulled the trigger, and my body exploded in blood right before it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Breakdown's eyes widened in pure shock, and I came down on top of him from behind and tore a _Chidori_ through his entire body, causing a trail of lightning to flow through the air. Breakdown groaned for several seconds before his body split in two, and he fell to the ground and didn't get back up. I dropped to my knees, panting in pain and exhaustion, and my _Sharingan_ reverted back to normal.

It was all I could do to keep from falling unconscious, but I knew that this war was still being waged, and we still had seven Decepticons to contend with. I forced myself back to my feet, blood dripping to the ground from my wounds, and I turned around just as a massive explosion rose over the buildings, sending rubble raining down in all directions. My eyed were wide with horror, hoping that whoever of my allies had been caught in that were alright.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] I flew through the air and crashed into the ground, and my sword clattered to the ground next to me as I got back to my feet. The Decepticon I had been fighting, known as Brushguard, walked casually towards me with both of its wrist blades still extended. I picked up my sword and electrified the blade, and activated my _Sharingan_ in order to face him. "Are you ready?" I asked him. Instead of verbally answering, he raised one of his blades in preparation.


	119. Chapter 117: Blade Masters

BLADE MASTERS

Brushguard raised his blades in preparation for my strike, and I swung my sword and fired an arc of electricity through the air at him. He effortlessly blocked the arc with his blades, and he then pointed one of his arms at me and fired a missile out of the underside of his wrist. I braced myself for the missile to come, and I knocked it away with my electrified sword, causing it to fly into one of the metal buildings containing my troops. _Damn,_ I thought to myself as I watched the building sway dangerously. Instead of charging me, Brushguard decided to walk towards me at a leisurely pace, as if he had nothing better to do, and I raised my sword once again.

He had barely said a word since the fight started, but his actions proved louder than his words, as I had been completely unable to get in a single hit. I formed a surge of lightning around my hands and fired a _Chidori_ _Senbon_ at him, but he crossed his swords and blocked all of the needles, leaving him completely unharmed. I was in the air behind him with the Tiger sign weaved, and I said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_"

I fired an intense jet of flame out of my mouth down at Brushguard, and he was caught off guard, the flames putting him down on his knees. The _Dragon Flame Jutsu_ subsided, and I landed on the ground and formed a _Chidori_ in my hand. I charged him with my jutsu, leaping into the air to aim for his head, but Brushguard spun around and rammed his sword into my attack, knocking me away and sending me flying through the air. My _Chidori_ had cleaved a small fracture into Brushguard's sword, but he paid it little notice as he fired another missile at me.

I was still in the air as the missile came at me, but I back-flipped out of the way to evade it, and the missile veered down and crashed into the ground, sending flames billowing between the buildings surrounding the impact point. I landed on the ground, and immediately charged Brushguard with my sword raised, but he waited for me to come with his own swords raised. I leaped into the air at him, and I rammed my sword into his, causing electricity to flow out from the impact. Brushguard swung his other blade at me from the side, and while I managed to block it with my sword, his strength sent me flying a hundred feet away and smashing across the buildings and raising an enormous dust cloud.

When the dust cleared, I was on one knee, glaring through the buildings at Brushguard with my _Sharingan_ active and my Curse Mark spread across a fifth of my body. Brushguard braced his blades in preparation, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired out my jutsu, whose size and power was increased by the power of my Curse Mark, but Brushguard still brought his sword down through it as if it were nothing, and he was completely unharmed. I made three hand signs and pointed my arm directly at the ground with my fingers spread out, and a ball of electricity formed in the palm of my hand.

"_Chidori!_" I brought my jutsu back, and then shot directly at Brushguard. Brushguard fired another missile at me, but I leaped through the air to avoid it, and came at him with my _Chidori_ raised. Brushguard swung his blade at me from the side, but I put my _Chidori_ out to defend myself, and his strike sent me flying into the ground. A missile rammed into me, sending smoke and flames billowing into the air, and Brushguard watched and waited to see if I was still alive. The smoke and flames cleared, and I was on one knee, with a giant, gray, hand-shaped wing protruding from my back.

The wing had wrapped around to my front and was now held out like a shield, defending me from the missile. The explosion had put several severe burns in the flesh of the wing, but I paid it little mind as it became engulfed in fiery-red light, and receded back into my skin. I braced myself and charged once more, forming a surge of lightning around my hand, and when I was fifty feet away from Brushguard, I thrust my arm forward and fired a _Chidori Sharp Spear_ at him. Brushguard blocked the electricity with one of his blades, but I pressed as I closed in on him, and my _Sharp Spear_ eventually began to break through his blade.

Brushguard brought his other blade down and busted through the _Sharp Spear_, and I immediately skidded to a halt to plan out my next move. Brushguard fired a missile down at me, but I leaped into the air to avoid it, and it crashed into the ground, blasting out a huge crater into the dirt. As I flew through the air, Brushguard brought his arm back, and four blades sprung out of his forearm in all different directions. It was like a giant shuriken, but the ends veered off into two tips. I watched intently as Brushguard swung his arm around, and the weapon fired at me, spinning much like a shuriken, but there was a string that ran off of it, keeping it attached to the arm.

The shuriken shot at me at blinding speed, but I managed to leap out of the way, and the shuriken flew under me and crashed into a building, completely knocking it over and sending it crashing to the ground. Brushguard retracted his weapon, which came to rest on top of his arm, and I immediately took the opportunity to swing my sword and fire a _Chidori Slash_ down at him. Brushguard blocked the attack with the shuriken, and he then fired it back up at me. I put my electrified sword out in front of me to defend myself, and the shuriken rammed into me, driving me back and sending me smashing into a building.

Brushguard retracted the shuriken once again, as I climbed out of the crater I had punched into the metal structure. My Curse Mark spread across half of my body, and formed a surge of lighting around my hand, and fired a _Chidori Senbon_ at Brushguard. Brushguard blocked this with his shuriken as well, and he then pointed his other arm at me and fired a missile from the underside of his wrist. I watched the missile come with my _Sharingan_, and I waited until the last moment to jump out of the way, allowing the missile to crash into the building, knocking it over as well. _I really should be taking more care to protect my battalion,_ I thought to myself as I looked down at the chaos of fleeing shinobi below.

A whirring noise caused me to look back towards Brushguard, and I just barely managed to swerve out of the way of the shuriken, which tore a hole in the sleeve of my shirt. As I dove down towards Brushguard, I electrified my blade in preparation, but he pulled his shuriken back in to take me out before I could get there. I spun around and put my sword out to defend myself, and the shuriken rammed into me, knocking me out of the air while it returned unharmed to its stand. I smacked into the ground, but immediately got back to my feet and leaped into the air just before a missile shot past, and then veered up and came in for another shot.

I took a shuriken of my own out of my back pocket, electrified it, and threw it down at the missile. The shuriken hit the missile, and the electricity detonated the explosive material, blasting a cloud of smoke and flames in harmless air. I swung my sword to try and knock Brushguard's shuriken away, but it ended up knocking me away instead, and I dropped down and landed on the ground. Brushguard swung his arm around, sending the shuriken down on top of me, but I disappeared in a burst of speed just before it smashed into the ground, bringing up dust around it.

I reappeared in the air directly above Brushguard with a Tiger sign weaved, and I said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired another jet of flame down at Brushguard, but he barrel-rolled out of the way, allowing the jet to tear the ground apart. As Brushguard came back to his feet, he jerked his arm up, causing the shuriken to come out of the ground and back to its stand. Brushguard then swung his arm straight up into the air, firing the shuriken up at me once again, and I was helpless to dodge in midair.

I put my blade down to defend myself, and the shuriken knocked me away once again, and I plummeted down sixty feet towards the ground. Brushguard swung his arm straight down at the ground, and the shuriken came down on top of me. I put my blade up to defend myself, and the shuriken rammed into it, driving me down towards the ground. The electricity in my blade was the only thing that kept it from shattering, and I was driven down and smashed into the ground, raising dust twenty feet around me as the shuriken returned to Brushguard. The instant the shuriken was back in its stand, Brushguard fired it again at me while I was still in the dust cloud.

The shuriken tore through the dust, coming out the other side, and I appeared right above the string attaching it to Brushguard's arm with a surge of lightning around my hand. I swung my arm through the air, sending three _Chidori Senbon_ at Brushguard, and while he managed to block two of them with his arm opposite the shuriken stand, the third hit him in the shoulder joint and severed one of the circuits. Brushguard's eyes narrowed as this occurred, and I immediately knew I had hit something vital.

I landed on the ground just as a rumbling noise sounded from behind me, and I rolled out of the way just as Brushguard's shuriken came tearing across the ground, and it came up and reattached to Brushguard's arm. I was on one knee with the tip of my sword in the ground to support me, and I was panting heavily from all of Brushguard's attacks. I finally electrified the blade of my sword once again, and I shot straight at Brushguard, ready to cut him in half. Brushguard readied his shuriken to fire back at me, but I leaped into the air high over him, making some hand signs along the way.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired the jutsu right down on top of him, but he was barely fazed, and countered by firing his shuriken up at me. I appeared twenty feet behind him with my sword fresh from a swing, and a circuit of electricity ran down Brushguard's shoulder. A gash in the armor quickly followed suit, but he turned around, completely unfazed, and swung his arm down, bringing the shuriken down on top of me. I ran out of the way just as it smashed into the ground, and I formed a surge of lighting in my hand and fired a wave _Chidori Senbon_ needles at Brushguard.

He retracted his shuriken, pulling it through all of the needles, leaving himself unharmed. I made some more hand signs and fired a _Dragon Flame Jutsu_ at him, but Brushguard put his shuriken out in front of him to defend himself, and when the torrent of flames cleared, he was completely unharmed. He then swung his arm, sending his shuriken flying at me, and I waited until the last second, then leaped into the air, allowing it to fly under me. While in the air, I made some hand signs and fired a _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ down at him.

He put his other arm up to defend his face against the fireballs, and they all scorched his armor while he took it without flinching. His shuriken embedded itself in the ground, but he pointed his arm up at me and fired a missile at me. As I dropped to the ground, I waited for the missile to come with my electrified sword raised. I batted it away before it could hit me, and it veered down and smashed into the ground between buildings, while I landed on the ground and shot at Brushguard. Brushguard retracted his shuriken, which I sidestepped as it flew past, and as soon as it reattached to his arm, he charged me.

Every step rumbled the ground like an earthquake, and when I was in range, he kept his shuriken in its stand, but he brought it down on top of me. I came to a halt and leaped out of the way the instant before one of the blades smashed into the ground, and as I flew through the air, I swiped my arm through the air and fired a wave of electric needles at Brushguard. The shuriken's blade in the ground kept Brushguard from running, so he put his other arm out in front of him to defend himself, but this time the needles ravaged his circuitry. It seemed all of the cracks I had punched into his armor had finally started to give, because giant chunks of it dropped to the ground in the fallout of the attack, leaving Brushguard far more exposed.

I shot at him, making hand signs along the way, but he finally managed to wrench his shuriken out of the ground, and he shot it at me once again. I disappeared in a burst of speed, coming out ten feet above him, and I fired a _Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu_ down at him. The _Fireball_ hit him in the back of the neck, forcing him to his knees and knocking several chunks out of his head armor. I landed on the ground behind him, facing the opposite direction, and I spun around and fired a _Chidori Sharp Spear_ right into the shoulder joint of the arm with the shuriken stand. I pulled my arm up with all of my strength, and the _Sharp Spear_ severed Brushguard's limb clean off, making him growl in pain.

I made the final hand signs, but his other hand converted into a cannon, and before I could do more than widen my eyes in horror, he pulled the trigger. I managed to sidestep the brunt of it, but it still took a chunk out of my side, causing blood to spatter seven feet back while I dropped to the ground. Brushguard rose back to his feet, and he pointed his cannon down at me once more, and I was helpless to do anything about it. He pulled the trigger, and blood exploded from my body, leaving me to sprawl across the ground.

Brushguard lowered his cannon, clearly triumphant at his victory, but that was when an ominous sound reached his ears. I had gray skin, blue hair that went down to my back, and a pair of wings that were shaped like hands coming out of my back. I was right behind Brushguard with a _Chidori_ raised, but instead of blue, the lighting trailing off of it was black. I perforated my _Black Chidori_ right through Brushguard's chest, and as I came out and landed on the ground on the other side, he dropped to his knees, and then swayed over onto the ground. I was panting heavily from a lack of chakra, and my entire body became engulfed in fiery light.

My wings receded back into my body, my hair shrank back to its original length and color, and my Second Stage disappeared completely while my Curse Mark receded back into my neck. "Is this what you call…genjutsu?" Brushguard was still alive, but he was quickly running out of life. "Yeah," I answered. Brushguard then uttered what was unmistakably an indignant laugh, before his bright red eyes went dark, and he didn't move again. "Agh! Gah!" The gash that Brushguard's cannon had put in my side put me on my knees, and blood dropped to the ground in puddles, soaking my clothes and the hand that was trying to stem it.

I had blood coming out of my mouth as well, but I couldn't let this stop me. I had to find a medical ninja to heal my injuries, so that I could keep fighting. I couldn't let anything kill me. Not until Matt and I took down Itachi. I got back to my feet and stumbled into the village, hopeful that a nearby medical ninja was seeing me in need.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Naruto and I came back-to-back, staring down our respective enemies. On my side was a Decepticon that was smaller than the others, but he had still managed to inflict several injuries across my body. Naruto was facing a small, robotic tiger about twice the size of a human. He wasn't nearly as beaten-up as I was, but I could tell he was beginning to run out of energy. My foe pointed a cannon down at me, while Naruto's extended missile launchers out of its back that trained on him.


	120. Chapter 118: They All Fall Down

THEY ALL FALL DOWN

The Decepticon that was facing me, known as Broadside, and the Decepticon facing Naruto, known as Ravage, both readied their weapons to fire at us. "Naruto, how are you holding up?" I asked him.

"I'm fine, but that's gonna change if this thing manages to catch me off-guard," he answered.

"Then you'd better not drop your guard," I advised him. Ravage fired a volley of missiles that veered around and came at us from all directions, but Naruto and I both leaped out of the way, allowing the missiles to tear the ground apart. Broadside fired an automatic missile-launcher at me, while Ravage fired machine guns at Naruto, but he dove out of the way while I made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired out a barrage of tiny fireballs from my mouth, and they all intercepted the missiles and detonated them, filling the air with explosions. Broadside traded his missile launcher for a dagger, and he came running at me as I descended towards the ground. I made some hand signs and formed a _Lightning Blade_ in my hand, which I then pointed at him and said, "_Lighting Style: Thunder Bullets!_" I fired four _Thunder Bullets_ at him, but he blocked them all with his dagger and continued coming at me.

Meanwhile, Ravage tore across the ground at Naruto, aiming machine guns and missile launchers up at him. Naruto made a hand sign, and said, "_Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" He became immersed in an enormous puff of smoke, and when the smoke cleared, fifty _Shadow Clones_ were on the ground, ready to come at Ravage. Ravage fired all of his weapons at once, quickly taking out a fifth of Naruto's clones, but they rest formed _Rasengans_ with each other and came at him from all sides.

Before they could hit him, a thousand metal spikes sprung out of all parts of Ravage's armor, and they all then fired like missiles, taking out every last one of Naruto's clones. Naruto himself was sent flying back with blood all over him, and he hit the ground hard and groaned in pain. I leaped through the air, dogged by five missiles, but I managed to swerve out of the way of them all, causing them to crash into a set of buildings. I landed in the midst of the explosions, and then shot right back out at Broadside with a _Lightning Blade_ in my hand.

Broadside fired a volley of missiles down at me, but I leaped into the air, avoiding them all, and I came down on top of him with my _Lighting Blade_ raised. Broadside's missile launcher turned into a dagger once more, and he held it out in front of him to defend himself, while I rammed my _Lightning Blade_ into it. He put up a valiant effort, but I held my other hand out, formed a second _Lightning Blade_, and rammed that into his blade as well. The two attacks combined quickly cleaved through his dagger, and I tore my jutsu through his arm, making him howl in pain. I landed on the ground right next to his foot, and I took out a fire-kunai and landed it in a chink in his ankle armor.

I leaped out of the way, and an explosion blasted his leg clean off, causing him to crash into the ground. While flying backwards through the air, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a _Fireball_ that was twice as big as the original, and it came down and crashed into Broadside, engulfing him completely in the flames. I landed on the ground as smoke billowed into the air, and when the smoke cleared, Broadside had severe damage to his armor, and his eyes were dark.

"_Rasengan Dart!_" A _Rasengan_ shot through the air at Ravage, who leaped out of the way, and he came at Naruto and his three clones with guns ready to fire. The four of them leaped in all directions, but Ravage quickly cut down the clones with a volley of missiles. Naruto landed on the roof of a building with another _Rasengan_ raised, but Ravage stopped cold and started gagging, as if he were about to cough up a fur ball. Ravage wretched, and out shot a robot that was about two-thirds as big as a human, that was thinner than paper and had a spine constructed of razor-sharp blades.

The robot shot across the ground, and then leaped into the air at Naruto, who came at it with his _Rasengan_ raised. The both ducked under Naruto's attack, and swung its tail across Naruto's gut, leaving him to spew blood while the robot fell past him. Naruto dropped down and crashed into the ground, and the robot landed on the ground and shot at him once again. Naruto, who had blood streaming down from the wound in his gut, pulled out several shuriken and threw them at Ravage, but they all bounced off his armor as he continued coming at him.

_Did you really think that would work?_ I thought to myself. Ravage rammed into Naruto, several spikes coming off of his body piercing his gut, and Naruto went rolling across the ground, smearing blood as he went. Ravage pointed several of his machine guns down at him, and Naruto looked up at him with half-opened eyes. "Naruto!"

Sakura came running past me towards him, but I yelled, "Wait, Sakura!" She came to a stop and looked around at me questioningly. "Let him fight his own fight. If you always interfere, he'll never get stronger." She thought about this for a moment, and then decided to stand back and watch. As Ravage prepared to finish him, Naruto threw a shuriken past him, making Ravage look around. This distraction allowed Naruto to get back to his feet and leap out of the way, and by the time Ravage looked back, it was too late. Naruto formed two _Shadow Clones_ at his sides, and he performed a _Rasengan_ with both of them.

He then grabbed his clones' arms, and threw them both down at Ravage, and they aimed their jutsu at him. Ravage fired missiles up at both of the clones, who were both blown out of the air, and Naruto conjured ten more _Shadow Clones_. They all landed on the ground around Ravage, who readied his guns and missiles to fire. A flurry of missiles and machine gun bullets rang out, followed by various puffs of smoke that concealed the confusion happening within. Several more gunshots echoed out, and stray bullets flew through the air, until the sound of tearing metal rent the air, leaving me with little doubt who had won.

The smoke cloud cleared, and Ravage's head was lying on the ground next to his body. Naruto was standing over him with blood dripping down all parts of his body, and he was hunched over in pain, wiping blood from his lip. He was panting heavily, and his eyes weren't fully open, but it was clear that he would be ready to fight again in no time. _Naruto,_ I thought to myself. _You're coming a long way._

[Dan Mako's point-of-view] Optimus Prime and Bonecrusher were brawling fists with each other, although it seemed to be a very one-sided battle for Optimus. Optimus rammed his fist into the top of Bonecrusher's head and then punched him in the stomach, and he then punched him in the chin and sent him flying away. Bonecrusher rolled across the ground into one of the many metal buildings that the Decepticlones had constructed, but he pulled out a blaster and fired two shots at Optimus. Optimus dodged them both, and he fired his own blaster right into Bonecrusher's chest.

After three shots were fired, Bonecrusher seemed unable to get back to his feet. Optimus lowered his weapon, clearly confident that he had won the fight, and started making his way over to Bonecrusher. Bonecrusher, who had a small blade in his hand, waited for Optimus to come, and when Optimus was standing over him, Bonecrusher leaped. Optimus was helpless to react as the Decepticon buried the blade up to the handle in Optimus's gut, making Optimus roar in pain and drop to his knees. Bonecrusher forced him down to the ground, uttering an evil laugh, when Optimus sprung a sword from his wrist and swung it across Bonecrusher's chest.

Bonecrusher screamed in agony as he stepped back, clutching the large wound in his chest, as Optimus charged in with his sword raised. Bonecrusher tried to defend himself, but Optimus quickly removed his arm right before cutting his head clean off. Bonecrusher's body fell to its knees, and then swayed over and crashed to the ground. Red Alert charged over and examined Optimus's wound. After a moment of running something through the computer on his wrist, he said, "It's nothing fatal, but you shouldn't strain yourself until we can get you fixed."

"That'll be hard to do given that we're in the middle of a war," Optimus informed him.

"What do you say?" Hot Shot asked. "Should we start taking out the rest of the Decepticlones?"

"No," Optimus answered. "The shinobi have done away with most of the Decepticlone forces. We need to get back to base and start tracking Megatron."

"What if he shows up here?" Hot Shot asked. "Megatron would never make a personal appearance in a small conflict such as this," Red Alert informed Hot Shot.

"Small conflict!?" Hot Shot said, flabbergasted.

"He's right," Optimus agreed. "There's nothing to be gained showing up here. He'll be biding his time, waiting for the moment to strike at us while we're weak. We need to find him before he can do that."

After a moment of consideration, Hot Shot said, "Alright, I guess that makes sense."

"That's fine," I said to them. "We can handle things here. You guys do what you need to do."

Optimus nodded, and after Red Alert typed into his computer, the three of them teleported away.

"What now?" Terrones asked.

"Alright!" I said to the SNIS forces at large. "Regroup and hunt down the rest of the Decepticlones! We don't want anything getting in the way of the Hidden Leaf's battles with the Decepticons!"

[_Third-person point-of-view_] By this point, Team Asuma, Team Kurenai, and Team Guy were neck-deep in battle with their Decepticon opponents. The three remaining Decepticons were putting up valiant fights, having already dealt severe damage to all twelve of their opponents. Neji fired a _Gentle Fist Art: Air Palm_ at Barricade, who blocked it with his bare arm, and then fired a large rifle back at him. Neji just barely managed to jump out of the way, but the explosion that the shell caused knocked him out of the air.

Tenten was spinning in place, scrolls trailing from her hands, and she fired a wave of endless fire-kunai at him. Barricade knelt down and formed a shield from his arm, which blocked all of the fire-kunai, and even after the explosions, he was completely unharmed. He deactivated his shield and fired several shots at Tenten, who was also blown to the ground. Lee appeared over Barricade's head with his foot raised, and he rammed it right into the top of Barricade's head with full force, almost knocking him down. Lee crashed to the ground, and struggled to get back up as he looked at his leg, which had been injured against Barricade's heavy armor.

"_Fang Over Fang!_" Kiba and Akamaru tore through the air at Landslide, who ducked down and let them fly past. The two of them came around for another shot, but Landslide put his very heavily-armored arm up and let them ram into it, punching some severe dents into the armor. In spite of this, Kiba and Akamaru were both dazed from the impact, and they dropped to the ground. Landslide brought his foot up and prepared to bring it down on top of them, but a wave of chakra needles shot through the air at him, causing him to cross his arms over his face.

Kiba and Akamaru took the opportunity to get out of the way, and Shino, who was standing on a nearby rooftop, had bugs flowing from his hands. He raised one hand into the air, and bugs exploded around Landslide's feet, crawling up his armor and circuits and making him look down in curiosity. Meanwhile, the tens of thousands of beetles that were occupying his joints were currently eating away at his circuitry, which after a few seconds caused Landslide to sway over. He hit the ground, and started screaming in pain, while millions of bugs engulfed his body from where he had landed.

They covered his eyes and crawled down his throat, eating away at every piece of circuitry they could find. Meanwhile, Kiba and Akamaru came down from directly above, spiraling around one another. "_Fang Cut Fang!_" The two of them combined their _Tunneling Fangs_ into one massive spiral, which crashed into Landslide's remains and tore them apart, sending millions of bugs flying off in every direction. Kiba and Akamaru skidded out of either side of the residing dust cloud, looking at their work with pride.

"_Shadow Sewing Jutsu!_" Shikamaru's shadow separated into half a dozen needles that came up off of the ground, and shot at Metrodash, who spawned blades from the undersides of his wrists and spun them around in his hands, blocking Shikamaru's attack as he ran at him.

"_Wind Style: Razor Wind!_" Asuma came down on top of Metrodash with his trench knife overflowing with wind, and he rammed it into his head, cutting it in half and sending it flying from his body. "_Choji!_" Asuma yelled.

"_Spiky Human Boulder!_" A giant, brown ball covered in spikes rolled towards Metrodash, and Asuma took his wind-enhanced trench knife and rammed it into the ground. The wind tore apart a crevasse in the ground, which raised boulders at the other end, and Choji used these boulders as a ramp to bounce into the air and crash through Metrodash's body, sending his parts flying off in all directions. Choji became engulfed in a puff of smoke, and he dropped out in his normal form and landed on the ground, looking back at the Decepticon's destroyed body.

"_Breaker Lotus!_" Might Guy rammed his fist into Barricade's gut, knocking him back several feet, and Guy landed on the ground, and then leaped back up. "_Second Gate, Gate of Rest: Open!_" Guy's muscles and veins pulsed, and he leaped into the air over Barricade and aimed his foot down at Barricade's head. "_Leaf Hurricane!_" Guy's sweeping kick completely destroyed Barricade's head, and Guy then spun around and brought his other leg down through Barricade's body, severing him completely in half. Guy landed on the ground, panting in pain and exhaustion from the aftereffects of opening two Inner Gates.

"Okay," he said. "It looks like that's all of them."

[_Dan's point-of-view_] Reports were coming in that all eight of the Decepticons had been destroyed, which brought a smile to my face. It looked like we might be able to win this after all. But that was when a large rocket plummeted down from the air and smashed into the ground, letting out a pulse of energy that blasted me into the air. I hit the ground and tried to crawl away from this new attacker, who flew down and landed on the ground next to me. I rolled over with my blaster pistol raised, and looked into the single eye of a six-foot-tall drone that had a double-edged staff in one hand, a blaster on the wrist of the other, and wings coming out of its back.


	121. Chapter 119: The Decepticlone General

THE DECEPTICLONE GENERAL

This new enemy electrified its staff, and then sent the end down on top of me, but I just barely managed to move my head so that it stuck in the dirt. I then kicked the drone's arm, and the meager distraction that caused allowed me to get to my feet and back off. I fired my pistol several times, but the drone spun its staff in its hands, blocking all of the blasts. The drone then swung its staff downward, sending a wave of electricity at me, but I dove out of the way and let it rage past.

"Dan!" Nichi, Taylor, and Erin all ran towards me, pointing their blasters at the drone. The drone pointed its own blaster at the girls, and fired a blast of blue energy that they just barely managed to dive-roll out of the way of. The blast collided into a building, and let out a pulse of energy that caused the building to sway over and fall to the ground. I took out one of my grenades, pressed a button on top, and waited. After five seconds, I tossed the grenade at the drone, who batted it out of the air with its staff. The grenade hit the ground five feet away from the drone, and let out a burst of electricity that knocked the drone off its feet, and left the four of us to fire relentlessly at it.

As we were firing, the drone rose back to its feet as if nothing were happening, and it then pointed its blaster at me and fired. I put my arm out in front of me, and a blue, transparent shield formed to defend me from the blast, but I was still knocked back a few inches. I deactivated the shield generator on my arm, and I then holstered my pistol and pulled the rifle off of my back. I cocked the gun, and fired a stream of blasts at the drone, who activated jet thrusters out of its back and flew out of the way.

I aimed my rifle up at him and fired, but he flew out of the way of all of the blasts, and then started firing back down at me. "Move!" I yelled. The four of us dove out of the way, and the volley of blasts that the drone had fired tore the ground apart, leaving pillars of dust billowing into the air. As I got back to my feet, the drone dive-bombed me, but I rolled out of the way as another volley of blasts tore the ground apart even more. I rose out of the dust and fired my rifle at the drone once again, but it was a lost cause as it continued flying out of the way.

"Wait for it to come in again," Erin said to me. I did what she said without hesitation, and ceased fire to wait for it to close in. The drone indeed veered around and came in for another strike, and Erin pointed one of the Mini-Cons on her wrist at it. When the drone was twenty feet away, Erin fired a beam of blue energy that hit it directly and surrounded it in blue light. The drone stopped cold, and hung suspended in the air. "Huaaagh!" Erin swung the drone around with all her strength, and she threw it like a ragdoll into a collection of buildings that the drone destroyed and sent crashing to the ground.

When the dust from the devastation cleared, the drone was on one knee, glaring at Erin with electricity flowing around its staff. "Nice one," I said to her.

"Thanks, she responded with a smile. The drone activated the thruster on its back, and it shot across the ground at us with its staff raised. I grabbed the handle of a knife at my belt, and I pulled it out and pressed a button on the butt. The blade became surrounded in red electricity, and I held it out to defend against the drone. The drone rammed the blade of its staff into mine, and multi-colored electricity spilled out of the contact point around us. At first I managed to hold the drone off, but he was a lot stronger than I had originally thought, and he eventually started to push me back.

_This isn't gonna end well,_ I thought to myself. A second later, the blade of my knife broke, and blood spilled from a gash the drone had cut into my chest, while I dropped to my knees. "_Dan!_" Nichi screamed. She started firing at the drone, but the drone blocked all of her blasts with its staff, and he then started firing back at her. Erin tackled her out of the way, and the two of them then got back up to face the drone. The drone swung its staff, firing an arc of electricity that was wide enough to catch Nichi and Erin, and Taylor as well, and they were helpless to dodge as it came at them.

I summoned all my strength and tackled the drone, causing the focus of the electricity arc to veer to the side, leaving Erin and Nichi clear and giving Taylor just enough room to dive out of the way. Erin helped her sister back to her feet, while Nichi pointed a Mini-Con on her wrist at the drone. She held down the trigger, and a concentration of yellow energy formed at the barrel. The concentration swelled up to the size of a basketball, and it was pounding the earth under her with energy. The drone saw this, and he immediately shot at her with its staff raised.

Nichi released the trigger, and the ball of energy fired at the drone. The energy hit the drone and unleashed an intense explosion of yellow light that knocked the drone clean off its feet as pieces of its armor flew off in all directions. The drone immediately started to get back up, but it was clear that the blast had severely injured it. There was a deep gash in its mechanical body where the blast hit, and its movements were much more staggered than they had been before. The drone picked its staff back up off the ground, but I pressed the button on a grenade and threw it at the drone, who never saw it coming.

The grenade hit the drone in the back, letting out a pulse of electric energy that blasted off more of the drone's armor and knocked it off its feet once again. "Everyone hit it together!" I called. I fired my rifle, the girls fired their blasters, and we bombarded the drone with everything we had. In spite of this, the drone still managed to get back to its feet, with many scorch marks in its armor, but otherwise largely unharmed, and it activated its thrusters and flew straight up into the air. The drone leveled out at thirty feet and pointed its blaster down at us, and I yelled, "Move!"

All four of us ran off in different directions, and a volley of blasts bombarded the ground, punching several shallow craters into it. While I was running, Director McKinley's voice spoke into the communicator in my ear, "Dan!"

"McKinley, what the hell is this thing!?" I said urgently.

"It's the Decepticlone General. He leads the Decepticlone forces as a whole, taking his own orders from the Decepticons," she answered.

"Damn," I said under my breath.

I aimed my rifle up at the General and fired, but he flew out of the way, and in turn fired several more blasts down at me. I dove out of the way, and the blasts tore more of the ground apart, but left me unhurt. Nichi fired several more yellow blasts up at the General from her Mini-Con known as Firefight, but the General flew out of the way of those as well, and fired down at her. "Alright, I've had enough of this," I said irritably. I activated jet thrusters out of the soles of my shoes, and flew up at the General with my assault rifle raised.

The General saw me coming and flew down at me with his staff raised, but I activated my shield generator once again, and we clashed with each other, flying past each other and sending sparks flying out. Electricity flowed from the General's staff, and he spun around and swung it through the air, firing an arc of electricity up at me. I took out another knife, electrified the blade, and swung it through the arc, dispersing it and leaving me unharmed. The General fired his blaster up at me, but I activated my shield and blocked the blasts, their momentum knocking me backwards into the air.

The General flew up at me with his staff raised, but I met him with my knife, connecting it with the shaft. The General, being mechanical, possessed far more strength than I did, and it was all I could do to keep the blade of his staff from cutting into my face. I finally kicked the General in the stomach, knocking him back, and I then tore my knife across his chest, severing a huge gash in his armor. I then shot back to avoid a counterattack, and the General fired his blaster at me again.

I flew out of the way of the blasts and fired my rifle at him, but he held his staff out and formed a wall of electricity that blocked all of the blasts. The wall then fired at me in the form of an enormous wave, and while I managed to fly out of the way of the brunt of it, the electricity managed to hit one of my boots and fry the circuitry. The thruster died, and I was sent flying towards the ground in a spiral, unable to control my direction. The General took the opportunity to come at me with his staff raised, but I managed to block him with my knife, and then drop out of the way of further assault.

The girls fired up at the General, but the General flew up into the air to avoid the blasts, and he then fired back down at them. The girls ran for cover, and I crashed into the ground and fired my rifle up at the General. The General flew up, and then back-flipped out of the way of the blasts, and then flew at me with his staff raised. I held my knife aloft, ready to defend myself, and I rammed my blade into his. More multi-colored electricity poured out on all sides of us, and we were both pressing our weapons with all of our strength. The General quickly got the upper-hand, but I pulled the trigger on a Mini-Con situated on my wrist, and the Mini-Con fired a ball of metal that was black and covered in spikes.

The ball stuck to the General's gut, and the distraction allowed me to break from the struggle and run to safety. Before the General could figure out what had just happened, the limpet mine exploded with tremendous force, blowing a wide hole into the General's body and causing him to drop to his knees. "When did you get Watchdog from Matt?" Nichi asked me.

"We met just before the Decepticons arrived, and he gave it to me there," I answered. "Said I would need it more than him."

In the meantime, the General was in the process of getting back to his feet, and we wouldn't have much time before he was firing at us again. I made no hesitation in charging with my knife raised, but the General swung his staff around, blasting me with electricity and knocking me back. I hit the ground on my back, and the General stepped on my chest, pinning me down while he pointed his blaster at me. A blast from Firefight hit him square in the head, and he looked over at the girls, who were all aiming their weapons at him. I rammed the blade of my knife into the General's leg, causing him to stumble off of me, and I got back to my feet and fired my rifle at him.

The girls followed suit, firing relentlessly at the General, who after taking a few dozen shots, managed to spin his staff around and put up an electric shield to defend himself. Erin fired another beam of blue energy from the Mini-Con Tractor, and the General was once again helplessly at Erin's mercy. She brought him up high into the air, and then with a mighty roar, brought him down and smashed him into the ground, bringing up dust around him.

"Concentrate your fire!" I ordered. We once again unleashed a hailstorm of gunfire at the General, who was still concealed in dust that concealed his state of well-being. After almost thirty seconds, we finally ceased fire and looked into the dust to see what had happened to him.

After a few moments, it seemed clear that the General was dead, but a blade shot out of the dust, and I was run through completely by the General's staff, spattering blood all over the ground around me. Nichi's, Taylor's, and Erin's eyes widened as they watched me, and I dropped to my knees as the General walked out of the dust cloud.


	122. Chapter 120: Comeback

Five more chapters until the Season Five Finale

* * *

COMEBACK

[Nichi's point-of-view] I screamed in terror as blood pooled on the ground under Dan. Meanwhile, the Decepticlone General walked over to him and wrenched his staff out of Dan's body, causing more blood to spatter out while he swayed over and hit the ground. With his staff back in his hands, the General turned to face us, but we were all too terrified to fight back. I finally managed to point Firefight at him, but he swung his staff and fired an arc of electricity before I could pull the trigger. The only reason I survived the arc was because Erin shoved me out of the way, and we both hit the ground as it flew past.

We both got back to our feet and aimed our weapons at the General, but he used his thrusters to accelerate his charge at us, and we just barely managed to dive out of the way. Taylor finally managed to get her resolve back, and she fired her blaster at the General while he was walking towards me. The blasts got the General's attention, and he turned towards Taylor and aimed his blaster at her, but she dove out of the way of the blast that he fired.

While we were all distracted with the General and vice-versa, a purple, metallic plate that was attached to Dan's chest started uttering mechanical sounds. Four prongs sprung out on all sides of the plate, and the entire mechanism glowed yellow. Erin dove out of the way of two blasts fired by the General, and I fired Firefight several times at him. When I fired the Mini-Con without charging, the ball of energy it unleashed was about an inch and a half in diameter. The General spun around and swung its staff at me, but I jumped back out of the way, and then fired Firefight once again.

The General blocked the blast with his staff, and he then fired his own blaster at me. I jumped to the side, and the blast hit the ground ten feet behind me and punched a shallow crater into it. I charged up Firefight for a larger blast, but the General saw this and shot down at me with his staff raised. I waited until the last instant, and when the blast was three inches in diameter, I released the trigger, firing the blast and hitting the General directly in the face, knocking him back and sending pieces of his armor flying.

He crashed and rolled across the ground, but he immediately got back to his feet and aimed his blaster at me. Before he could fire, Dan shot him in the back of the head at point-blank range, causing the General to drop to his knees. "Whoa, wait a minute," I said, looking at Dan with wide eyes. Taylor and Erin were both looking at him as well, with similar expressions to mine. The glow on the metal plate on his chest was fading away, and the hole in his stomach was completely healed.

"His name is Comeback," Dan explained. "Once every twenty-four hours, if the person that he's attached to is killed, Comeback can revive them and completely heal their injuries. And now that I know just how quick the General can strike, I'll be able to avoid his attacks from here on out." In the blink of an eye, the General swung his staff around, but Dan knocked it away with his knife, and then kicked the General down to the ground. Dan was about to finish the job, but the General aimed the bottoms of his feet at him and let out a burst of flame at him.

"Agh!" Dan just barely managed to bring his shield out to defend himself, while the General shot across the ground away from him. He rolled over onto his fours and shot into the air before any of us could shoot him, and we were right back to square one. "I hate this thing," I said with gritted teeth as I glared up at the General. The General pointed his blaster down at Dan and fired, but Dan dove out of the way, and then fired his rifle back up at him. The General swung his staff and fired an arc of electricity down at Dan, but Dan backed out of the way, and continued firing.

I continuously fired Firefight up at the General, but he dodged all of the blasts, and then came at me with his electrified staff raised. I aimed a Mini-Con on the opposite wrist of Firefight, and when I pulled the trigger, the barrel let out a powerful circuit of electricity at the General. The General managed to block it with his staff, but he was forced to ground so that he would have better leverage against it. My other Mini-Con, Jumpstart, had a thirty-second charge on it before it died, and I had to get to him before that happened.

The General held firm, and just when I thought my Mini-Con was going to run out, Taylor, Erin, and Dan came in from all sides with their weapons raised. The General saw this, and he activated the jet thrusters at the bottoms of his feet, and he shot up into the air while the electricity met the blasts and caused a small explosion. The General flew through the air and fired his blaster down at me, but I dove out of the way once again, and while I was on the ground I fired Firefight back up at him. The General blocked the blasts with his staff, and he then shot down at me.

I rolled out of the way just before the blade of his staff rammed into the ground, and I rolled back to my feet and charged up Firefight. The General charged up electricity into his blade, and then channeled it across his body into his other hand, which he pointed at me. My eyes widened, and I just barely had time to jump out of the way, firing Firefight's blast, before a bolt of electricity shot past, singing my shirt. Firefight's blast flew well past the General, who grabbed his staff out of the ground and shot at me, and I squealed and jumped back just as he swung.

Blood spattered to the ground, and I landed on my back, groaning in pain while the General stood over me. Dan fired a stream of blasts from his rifle, and while this distracted the General, I took the opportunity to stumble to my feet and get away from him. When I was ten feet away, I turned around and once again charged up Firefight, but the General swung his staff and fired an arc of electricity at me. I ducked the arc, and then fired a six-inch ball of energy at the General, who knocked it away with a single swing of his staff.

Erin fired Tractor at him, but the General saw it coming and ducked the beam, and then aimed his blaster at her and fired. Erin sidestepped the blast and fired her SNIS blaster at him. The General held his arm out and took the blasts like they were nothing, and he then fired an arc of electricity at her. Erin dove out of the way, and Dan pulled out his knife, electrified the blade, and charged the General. The General didn't know what had happened until Dan rammed his blade into the General's collar area, and he backed off while the General tried to get the blade out.

"Taylor!" Dan ordered. Taylor held out her hand, where a red, metal contraption attached to the underside of her wrist popped out a metal ball into her palm. Taylor threw the ball at the General, who reflexively caught it just before he realized what it was. The grenade exploded, blowing the General's arm off and sending him flying through the air. Dan charged the General head-on, and he leaped over him feet-first, grabbing the handle of his knife in the General's shoulder.

The momentum from his jump allowed him to tear the blade across the General's shoulder, severing his other arm as well and leaving him completely defenseless. Dan landed on the ground, and Taylor and Erin dropped their guard while Dan and I kept our blasters raised.

"How can he fight back with no arms?" Erin asked skeptically.

"Remember Matt's fight with Thrust?" I asked. Erin's and Taylor's eyes widened as they flashed back to the fight.

_Matt fired an enormous torrent of flame out of his mouth, which caught Thrust by surprise and hit him head-on, driving him down and smashing him into the ground in a giant explosion of pure fire that sent tendrils raining through the air. Matt landed on the ground twenty feet away from the roaring flames, waiting to see what was about to happen. Thrust staggered out of the fire with his hand on his side, and he was burnt and beaten in almost every part of his body. "You ready to give up yet?" Matt asked, his Curse Mark pumping him with power. _

"_Oh, not even close," Thrust said angrily. He held out his hand in front of him, and pressed a button on his wrist. His parts that had been scattered across the battlefield from Matt's most recent assault flew over and went into his injuries. The parts molded together, and when all was said and done, Thrust had been completely rebuilt._

A light came on at the General's waist, and a similar light shone out of the torn parts of both of his arms. As if they were attached to invisible strings, both arms flew over and reattached to the General's limbs, and repaired themselves to the point where it appeared they had never been severed. The General picked up his staff and his gun, but Dan and Taylor both lobbed grenades at him from opposite directions. The General saw them coming and made a giant spinning swing with his staff, knocking both grenades out of the air and sending them back at us.

"Move!" Dan yelled. We all dove out of the way, and the grenades punched wide, shallow craters into the ground. While still on the ground, Dan fired a stream from his rifle at the General, who blocked all of the blasts with his staff. The General then pointed the end at Dan and fired a circuit of electricity that Dan just barely managed to roll out of the way of. He got to his feet and leaped at the General with his electrified knife raised, but the General blocked his strike with his staff.

Taylor, Erin and I took the opportunity to start firing at the General's back, but he was barely fazed by the hailstorm of bullets that hit him as he struggled with Dan. Finally, he activated his thrusters and shot up into the air, and Dan fired his rifle up after him. The General flew out of the way of all of the blasts, and he then flew down at Dan with his electrified staff raised.

Dan held his knife out in front of him, and the General rammed his staff into it, driving Dan back with immense strength. Dan finally managed to duck and roll, allowing the General to fly past, and the General then aimed his blaster and fired down at Dan. Dan jumped back out of the way of the blasts, and he countered by firing his blaster back at the General. The General took the blasts without flinching, and he then swung his staff, firing an arc of electricity at Dan. Dan, who was helpless to dodge, took the arc head-on and was sent flying back.

He rolled across the ground into the base of a building, and he sat up with blood all over him. "Are you alright!?" I called back as Taylor, Erin and I fired at the General.

"Yep, I'm good," he said in a strained voice as he struggled back to his feet. He re-electrified his knife, and he came at the General once again. The General landed on the ground and held his staff out, and he used it to block Dan's slash. Dan took his pistol out of his belt and rammed it into a chink in the General's armor inflicted by countless blaster shots. Dan pulled the trigger once, twice, three times, and the third blast busted out a clean hole in the General's body, and he swayed over and started to drop to the ground.

The General planted his foot on the ground to keep himself steady, and he rammed his metal fist into Dan's cheek, sending him flying into the air. Dan dropped down and smacked into the ground, and the General stumbled towards him, hand grasping the hole in his body, and pointed his blaster down at him. Dan looked into the barrel of the blaster, and after several seconds, he said, "I really didn't want to have to do this." He made some hand signs, and called out, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

Dan blew out a gigantic ball of fire at the General, and before the General could react, the jutsu hit him with full force. The jutsu knocked the General back and sent pieces of his armor flying, while Dan got to his feet and brushed himself off. He then faced the General once again, with a triumphant glow in his eyes.


	123. Chapter 121: Secret in the Open

Four more chapters until the Season Five finale.

* * *

SECRET IN THE OPEN

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" Dan's jutsu blasted the General back, and Dan got back to his feet and faced him once again. Meanwhile, Taylor, Erin and I were all looking at him with complete shock on our faces, which Dan didn't even acknowledge.

"You're like Matt!" I said to him angrily.

"Yes I am," he confirmed, still facing the General.

"And you chose to wait until now to reveal this?" Erin said to him, annoyed as well.

"It's like I said, I was hoping I wouldn't have to," Dan responded.

By this point, the General was getting back to his feet and grabbing his weapons, and Dan prepared to fight.

[Dan's point-of-view] "Get back," I said to the three of them. "This is about to get really ugly." I guess it was from the time they spent with Matt, but somehow they knew that they didn't want to be anywhere near here. As a result, they all turned around and ran off in the opposite direction. The General fired an arc of electricity into the air, but I made a spectacular leap over it, and came down on top of the General with my electrified knife raised. I rammed my blade into the shaft of the General's staff, and I then swung my foot into his gut, making him lose his guard.

I landed on the ground facing away from the General, and I spun around and slashed him across the chest, tearing a giant gash into his armor. The General stumbled back, but then immediately sent his fist at me. I jumped over him, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him down, slamming him into the ground while I leaped off. The General started getting back to his feet and grabbed his blaster, and he then fired three blasts at me. I landed on the roof of one of the Decepticlones' metal towers, and then turned around and ran away from the blasts as they flew up into the air.

The General activated his thrusters and flew up into the air after me, and he flew around the building that I had been on top of just as I jumped off the other side. I took out my electric knife once again and rammed the blade into the shaft of the General's staff, and he shoved me away and fired an arc of electricity at me. I crossed my arms and took the arc directly, but I then became engulfed in a puff of smoke and came out as a log. The General landed on the ground and began looking around at me, but a Shock Grenade landed at his feet and bounced back up into his face.

The explosion of electricity sent the General flying back, and I landed on the ground and pointed my rifle at him. I fired a stream of blasts at the General, but the General put his staff out and formed a wall of electricity to intercept all of the blasts. The General then swung his staff outward, and the wall fired a stream of electricity at me. I leaped into the air just before the stream smashed into the ground, and I then made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Disarmament!_" A pulse of energy knocked the General's staff and his blaster out of his hand, leaving him virtually defenseless.

"_Ninja Art: Propulsion Jutsu!_" A similar pulse of energy emanated from my feet, sending me flying down at the General with my electric knife raised. The General dove out of the way, I landed where he had been, and he grabbed his blaster and fired it at me. I ducked all of the blasts, and then came at him once again. He backed out of the way of all of my slashes, until he eventually knocked his wrist into mine, and then punched me in the gut. I grabbed his wrist and punched him in the face, but his metal armor made it so that he barely felt it, while I was pretty sure my knuckles were broken.

The General then pointed his blaster at me, but I ducked the blast that he fired, and then barrel-rolled out of the way. The General fired at me again, and while I managed to block it with my knife, the pulse of energy that the blast released on impact sent me flying back, knocking my knife out of my hand. The General fired his blaster once again, and the blast hit me directly, bringing up rubble around me, but I landed on my feet and shot at the General once again.

While I came at him, I made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Blast Palm!_" I got around the General's guard and planted my palm against its gut, and a hole was blasted through the General's armor, coming out the other side. The General dropped to one knee, and I leaped back and made some hand signs in the air. "_Ninja Art: Tool Summoning Jutsu!_" I clapped my hands together, and a shuriken appeared out of a puff of smoke in front of me.

I grabbed the shuriken and threw it at the General, and I then made some more hand signs. "_Ninja Art: Shuriken Expansion Jutsu!_" The tiny shuriken instantly grew to be thirty feet long, and the General was barely able to dive out of the way as it crashed into the ground. I landed on the ground and aimed my rifle at the General, but he fired his blaster at me before I could pull the trigger, forcing me to dive out of the way. I got back to my feet and fired my rifle at the General, but he ran out of the way, picking his staff up off the ground as he went.

He then activated his thrusters and shot at me with his staff electrified, but I leaped into the air, letting him fly under me. I clapped my hands together once again, and two fire-kunai appeared in the air right in front of me. I grabbed them both and threw them down at the General, who flew out of the way of both of the explosions, and then fired an arc of electricity up at me. I dropped out of the way of the arc, and I landed on the ground and shot towards the General. I grabbed my knife off the ground as I came at the General, and he stalled his flight, then came at me with his blaster aimed at me.

He fired three blasts at me, but I dove out of the way of them all, allowing them to punch more shallow craters into the ground. While I was still down, the General fired another arc of electricity at me, but I rolled out of the way, allowing it to tear the ground apart where I had been lying. I got back to my feet and made some more hand signs, but the General was quick to fire at me once again before I could cast my jutsu. I leaped out of the way of the blasts, and then threw a Shock Grenade down at the General.

The General knocked the Grenade out of the air with his staff, and I then used another _Ninja Art: Propulsion Jutsu_ to shoot myself down at him. The General fired an arc of electricity at me as I approached, but I blocked it with my knife, allowing the arc to knock me back through the air. I landed on the ground and fired my pistol at the General, but he blocked all of the blasts with his staff, and then fired his blaster at me. I ran out of the way of the blasts, and then summoned a third fire-kunai and threw it at the General.

The General ducked the knife, and then pointed his staff straight up into the air. He then brought it down so that it pointed at me, and a massive stream of electricity fired from it at me, but I activated my shield generator and blocked the stream. At first my shield managed to hold out, but then a series of cracks formed in it, and began to spread outwards. After a few seconds, the shield broke, and an explosion blasted dust ten feet into the air around me. "_Dan!_" Nichi screamed. The General then turned and pointed his blaster at her, but I appeared right behind him, bent down to the ground.

My thumb covered in blood, I planted my palm on the ground, where a black Summoning Circle appeared, centered around my hand. A puff of smoke burst out from the Seal, and I swung my sword, slicing into the General's armor and almost cutting him in half. The General, unfazed by the recent assault, spun around and swung his electrified staff, but I blocked the swing and allowed the General's strength to send me flying back. While I was in the air, I threw my sword out, and the blade spawned fifteen more blades that ran in a circle, and the weapon spun through the air like a saw.

The General put his staff out to defend himself, but when my weapon hit, it rolled over the staff and cut into the General's body, running from the top of his shoulder down to his gut. The blade came out behind him and stuck into the ground, and I came at the General head-on. The General, possessing only one good arm, fired his blaster at me, but I ducked the blast, rolling past the General. The General dropped his blaster and grabbed his staff, I grabbed my sword, which retracted all of its blades into the original, and we both spun around and swung at the same time, our blades knocking each other away.

I landed on the ground on my bottom, but the General pointed his staff at me and fired a circuit of electricity at me. I blocked the circuit with my sword, and I pulled my pistol out of its holster and fired it at the General. The blasts that hit the General's gut broke his concentration and his hold on the circuit, and I managed to tear through it with my sword, dispersing it completely. I got to my feet and shot at the General with my sword raised, but the General put his staff out in front of him to defend himself.

I rammed my blade into his shaft, and my strength broke right through the staff, while I charged past the General, tearing my blade through his arm and his side. His arm dropped to the ground while the General was on one knee, and I was ten feet away, looking behind me at him. The General, apparently realizing that this was a lost battle, activated his flight functions and took off in the other direction. "Oh, no you don't!" I said as I made some more hand signs. "_Ninja Art: Black Plasma Shuriken!_" I pointed my fists out at the General, and they became surrounded in black energy.

Out of the energy fired a volley of twenty shuriken, all comprised entirely of the same black energy and trailing energy behind them. The _Black Plasma Shuriken_ flew through the air, homing in on the General, who was helpless as they all bombarded him, tearing him to pieces and sending him crashing into the ground in a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, the General was in pieces, and it was clear that he wouldn't be getting up again. I then looked around, and raised an eyebrow when I saw Matt standing on the roof of a building, staring down at me.

Kakashi and Sasuke were on buildings as well, all of them apparently having been well-entertained by my struggles. "Did it ever occur to you to come down and help me?" I asked them irritably.

"You seemed to have it handled," Sasuke said to me. All of them jumped off their rooftops and walked casually over to me. Nichi, Taylor, and Erin ran over to meet us as well, but the shinobis' eyes were fixed firmly on me.

"So I guess the secret's out," I admitted non-guiltily.

Matt looked at me, and said, "I'm not complaining."

"How long ago did you leave your village?" Kakashi asked me.

"Ten years," I answered. "I was born in the Village Hidden in the Stone, but I had always been dissatisfied with the way things were run there. Eventually, when I was sixteen, the village accused my parents of being spies and killed them. They were going to kill me too, but I escaped in the chaos, fleeing the village. I honed my skills on my own, and then came to America to find a new life. That's when McKinley found me. She said she could use a man of my skills, and together, we and a few other people put together the SNIS.

"We searched for people who seemed to have no purpose, took them in, trained them, and now they're risking their lives to protect our nation."

"That's interesting," Kakashi said sincerely.

I was pretty sure we were about to sit down and have a drink, but Sasuke then said, "Hey, Matt." We all looked around to see a jet descending into the village. The jet started transforming just before it flew below the buildings, and a moment later, three concurrent explosions rose up into the air. "You want our help?" Sasuke asked.

"No," Matt answered. "This is mine."

[Matt's point-of-view] The others did as I asked and stayed behind, while I shot towards the site of the explosions. I came to the base of a clearing that had been blasted into the village to find a robot holding a sword that had the body of a Leaf shinobi hanging off of it. The robot turned around to face me, and he dropped the ninja to the ground to die. "Are you ready to finish this once and for all?" Starscream asked me.

"Let's end this," I demanded.


	124. Chapter 122: The Climax of Battle

Three more chapters until the Season Five Finale.

* * *

THE CLIMAX OF BATTLE

"I noticed you stayed small, unlike the other Decepticons," I noted.

"I want this to be a fair fight," Starscream said with a smile. "I want to be able to kill you without any handicaps whatsoever, and that's what I'm gonna do!"

He activated thrusters on the bottoms of his feet and shot at me with his sword raised. I pulled out a kunai and blocked his sword, but his strength drove me back across the ground, bringing up dust as we went. I finally ducked under him, allowing him to shoot past, and I made some hand signs and fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ at him. Starscream shot straight up into the air to avoid the fireball, and he then pointed his wrist down at me, and I noticed the green rocket launcher attached to it.

A pair of rockets shot out of the barrel of the launcher, spiraling around each other as they came down at me. I dove out of the way, allowing the rockets to crash into the ground, and I got back to my feet and prepared for another assault. My teeth were gritted as I glared at him, unable to believe that he would stoop so low. "Oh, does this look familiar?" Starscream asked with a grin, indicating the rocket launcher. "Yeah, I figured it would be pretty entertaining to kill you with your most prized weapons, so I took the liberty of taking control of Flashbang, along with something else. Can you guess what it is? Here's a hint: look at my armor; notice anything different?"

That was when my eyes widened. I hadn't noticed it before, but now that he pointed it out, it was clear as day. He definitely had a lot more armor on him than he had last time. And the new armor he was sporting was the same as… "Safeguard," I said, angrier still.

"Very good," Starscream praised. "Glad to see, after all this time, that you still recognize your own Mini-Cons. I've got the rest of them stored on the head of the Decepticon fleet, the Supremacy. If you beat me, you can try to get them back if you wish."

"Is the Supremacy that giant purple ship that destroyed us a few weeks ago?" I asked.

"Oh, no," Starscream answered. "No, that was my own personal cruiser, the Revolution. No, the Supremacy is three times bigger than that, and makes the Revolution look like a kid's toy," he explained. I knew this information should make me terrified; if the Revolution could cut down all of our forces so easily, then the Supremacy would be nearly unstoppable. But I couldn't worry about that right now. I had to kill Starscream and get my Mini-Cons back, so that I could end this war once and for all.

I made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I inhaled my breath, and breathed out ten human-sized fireballs at Starscream, whose eyes widened when he saw them. He spun around and flew away from them, and as they homed in on him, he knocked them all away with his sword. A shadow loomed over him, and he looked behind him up into the air to see me coming down on top of him with a _Chidori_ raised. Starscream spun around and swung his sword, and I rammed my _Chidori _into it, driving him down towards the ground.

Starscream aimed Flashbang at me, but before he could fire, I flipped over him and kicked him in the back, sending him back up into the air. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a second _Fireball_ up at him, but he spun around, swinging his sword through it and dispersing the fireball completely, leaving him unharmed. Starscream then activated his jet thrusters and shot down at me with his sword raised, but I pulled my kunai back out and blocked his slash, while his strength smashed me into the ground.

Starscream continued pressing me while I tried to fend him off, but he eventually raised his fist and brought it down on top of me. His strength blasted up dust around us, and he flew backwards out of the cloud, looking down to see if I could still fight. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" An intense burst of flame exploded from the dust cloud, and Starscream didn't have time to react before it crashed into him, causing an explosion of smoke and flames that shot through the air. In the midst of the smoke, Starscream kept his guard up, but I was right behind him with another _Chidori_ raised.

Starscream saw me just in time and swung his sword around, and we clashed against each other. It was only his robotic strength that kept me at bay, but I was starting to cleave through his sword. Starscream swung his other fist around, hitting me in the gut and knocking me back, and he then shot after me with his sword raised. He stabbed, but I lowered myself out of the way, allowing it to graze my forehead, and I then back-flipped so that I was upright and aimed a kunai at his leg. The blade of the knife broke off against his armor, and he then swung his sword down on top of me.

Out of sheer instinct, I put my arms up to defend myself, but his strength sent me flying down towards the ground with blood pouring from a gash in my forearm. I smashed into the ground, raising up dust around me, and Starscream pointed Flashbang down at me and fired, and the two rockets rose smoke out of the dust when they hit. I appeared ten feet behind the smoke and dust, crouched down on all fours, and I then shot back up at Starscream. I rammed a kunai into his sword, but he then kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying backwards and smashing into one of the metal towers.

The tower itself was strong enough to support my weight, but it didn't stop me from punching an enormous dent in it upon impact. Starscream pointed the wrist opposite Flashbang at me and fired a yellow, dart-shaped blast at me. I crawled out of the dent I was in and dove out of the way, and the blast hit the building and exploded violently, causing the building to sway over and fall to the ground. As I plummeted towards the ground, Starscream flew down at me with his sword ready to swing, but I flipped upright and blocked his slash with a kunai. Starscream shoved me down and caused me to smash into the wreckage of the upturned building while he fired Flashbang down at me.

I was ten feet away from the impact point of Flashbang, on the opposite side of it from Starscream, and I was squatted down, panting and with blood running down my face. Starscream wasted no time in charging down at me with his sword raised, but I pulled out a kunai and waited for him. At the very last instant, I jumped up, blocking his slash and swinging myself over him, leaving him to land on the ground and look back at me in confusion. I dropped down while upside-down, but while I was still in the air, time seemed to slow down as I made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I spat out an enormous burst of flame that hit Starscream head-on, blasting him back with pieces of his armor flying off. He hit the ground, and I charged through the flames with another _Chidori_ raised. Starscream immediately swung his sword around, and while I managed to block it with my jutsu, his strength knocked me up into the air. He got back to his feet and charged me head-on, but I landed on the ground and activated a _Flight Jutsu_, using it to back out of the way of his stab.

While he completed with his slash, I made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired another burst of flame at Starscream, but he was smarter this time. He put his arm out in front of him and activated a shield generator that blocked the flames, and left him completely unharmed. With enhanced speed due to the _Flight Jutsu_, I shot at Starscream head-on, but he swung his sword before I could attack him, forcing me to duck. I tried to make a counterattack, but Starscream kicked me as hard as he could, sending me flying back through the air.

Starscream shot at me with his sword raised while I was still in the air, but I pulled out a kunai, blocked his slash, and flipped over him. I landed behind him and leaped away, while Starscream spun around and fired a blast at me. I spun around through the air and threw my knife at the blast, and the blast exploded against the kunai, sending it flying through the air. Starscream shot at me while I landed on the ground and came at him, but I ducked his punch, and then jumped past him. While I was in the air, I made some hand signs, but before I could light off my jutsu, Starscream fired Flashbang at me.

I just barely managed to swerve out of the way, and Starscream came at me with his sword raised. I ducked his slash, but Starscream kicked me with all his strength, once again sending me flying back. As he shot at me once again, Starscream said, "I didn't think you would be one to fall for the same trick twice, Tanzaki Uchiha."

My eyes widened as I flew back through the air, and I stopped myself with a _Flight Jutsu_ and shot at Starscream. I took out a kunai and rammed it into his sword, and we both pressed against each other. "How do you know about my real name?" I asked him.

Starscream took on a grin and said, "The Decepticons have access to resources that many of you humans don't even know about. Unlike you, we actually study our enemies before we head into combat."

With this, he pressed his sword, and the blade of my kunai went flying off while blood spattered from a gash going down across my torso. Starscream brought his sword down, then swung it once again while I was reeling from the pain. Out of sheer reflexes I managed to back out of the way of the slash so that it only grazed my face, and Starscream stepped in and swung his sword once again while I ducked past him. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style—!_"

Starscream slashed me across the chest, and I hit the ground with my body boiling in pain while Starscream stomped on my chest to keep me down. "I'm getting sick of those damned jutsu of yours," he said to me. He raised his sword up and prepared to bring it down on top of me, but I blew out a tiny fireball, hitting Starscream directly in the face and distracting him while I swung my foot around, kicking him off of me. I immediately got back to my feet while Starscream fired Flashbang at me, but I evaded the rockets as they flew past.

I ducked behind a building, while Starscream walked casually towards me with his sword at his side. While he walked, he pointed his wrist blaster at the building I was hiding behind and fired several times. The explosions that the blasts caused eventually sent the building falling on its side, sending the shinobi inside into turmoil. While he was distracted with that, I flew out from behind him with the Tiger sign weaved and said, "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a burst of flame out at him, but he saw it coming and put his sword out in front of him to defend himself.

I thought that the slim blade wouldn't be enough to defend the flames, but apparently there was a lot more to it than met the eye. Best I could tell, some gizmo built into the blade blew the flames around Starscream, leaving him completely unharmed. But when the flames cleared, I was right beside him with a _Rasengan_ aimed right at his stomach, but he grabbed my wrist before I could hit him. He then swung me around and threw me through the air, sending me flying fifty feet away.

I back-flipped and landed on my feet, and Starscream shot at me with his sword raised. I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew my fireball out at him, but he charged right through it as if it were absolutely nothing. I jumped out of the way of his stab, but he still managed to graze my ankle. While I flew in an arc over him, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I blew the volley of tiny fireballs down at Starscream, but he crossed his arms over his face to defend himself, and the fireballs bounced off his armor like balls of paper.

I landed on the ground and said, "I really gotta learn some more jutsu." Starscream swung his sword, but I ducked it, then jumped back to avoid a follow-up slash. Then, the blade of Starscream's sword glowed red, and he swung it through the air, firing an arc of red energy at me. I crossed my arms to try and defend myself, but the arc cut them exactly like a regular sword, sending blood spattering through the air while I hit the ground on my back. Starscream charged up more energy into his blade, and I was helpless to dodge or defend myself.


	125. Chapter 123: Massacre on the Battlefield

Two more chapters until the Season Five Finale.

* * *

MASSACRE ON THE BATTLEFIELD

"Jesus, what on earth was that?" I asked as Starscream prepared to fire another blast at me.

"I hate using this technique," Starscream said bitterly. "As second-in-command of the Decepticons, I was required to know it so that I would be able to save myself in battle. It takes heat from my internal systems, combines it with the friction of the blade, and fires it all off as a beam capable of cutting through almost anything. I only use it when I absolutely have to, because while I do hate this technique, I hate losing even more."

At this, I took on a smile and said, "I guess you were pretty pissed off when you lost to me last time."

Starscream's eyes narrowed in anger at this, and he said, "Yeah, 'pissed' is one word you could use, I guess. If losing to a human wasn't bad enough, all of the crap I got from the other Decepticons made me swear to get my revenge on you. And if using this technique is what it takes to get there, then I'll just have to deal with it."

I got back to my feet, blood still dripping from my arms, but I braced myself to attack all the same. Starscream activated the thrusters on the bottoms of his feet, and he shot at me with his sword raised and surrounded in the red aura. I leaped backwards into the air to avoid it, but he swung his sword, firing another arc at me. I brought my body up and let it fly under me, and I then made some hand signs and fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ down at him. Starscream held his sword out in front of him and used it to defend against the attack, which crashed into him and blasted out a crater in the ground around him.

When the smoke and flames cleared, Starscream was almost completely unharmed aside from a few scorch marks in his armor. He then shot up at me with his sword raised, but I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and came down at him with a _Rasengan_ activated. I rammed my jutsu into his sword, and red energy mixed with blue chakra shot out on all sides of us. We both pressed against each other until our attacks started to destabilize. The end result was a burst of energy that sent us both flying in opposite directions, myself rising into the air while Starscream smashed into the ground.

A pair of spiraling rockets shot out of the dust at me, but I swerved to the side of them, made some hand signs, and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired a volley of thirty tiny fireballs down at Starscream, who shot across the ground while they homed in on him. It took me a second to realize it, but it eventually became clear that he was making his way towards me. Sure enough, he shot up at me with his sword raised, but I backed into the air to keep him at a distance. He swung his sword and fired an arc of red energy at me, but I ducked it, and then shot straight down at the ground.

Knowing that evading the _Phoenix Flower_ was a lost cause, Starscream spun around and held his arm out activating a shield generator on it that blocked all of the fireballs. The shield dissipated, and Starscream shot down at me with his sword once again surrounded in red energy. I threw three fire-kunai up at him, but he knocked them all out of the air with his sword, sending them plummeting down and detonating against the ground like bombs. While he closed in on me, Starscream fired another arc of energy at me, but I came up over it and let it smash into the ground.

I landed the bottom of my foot in Starscream's face, knocking him back a few inches, and I landed on the ground and shot straight at him. I punched him square in the jaw, his metal cracking my knuckles open, but I shoved him back with all my strength, sending him skidding five feet across the ground. Starscream immediately regained himself and closed in on me with his sword in a stabbing motion, but I managed to jump to the side so that it only grazed my side. I swung my fist around and hit him in the face once again, and my strength knocked him off his feet while I made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a burst of fire out of my mouth at Starscream, at point-blank range, and the flames blasted the ground apart while Starscream himself was concealed in smoke. He flew backwards out of the smoke cloud with several holes in his armor, but he swung his sword and fired another arc of energy down at me. I disappeared in a burst of speed to let it hit the ground, and I came out right behind Starscream with lightning streaming from my hand. "_Chidori!_" I swung my arm around, and a circuit of electricity shot through the air while Starscream hunched over, a giant piece of his armor having been torn out.

I quickly made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Liquid Bullets!_" I fired five concentrated balls of water at Starscream, and the remaining electricity around his body reacted with the water to generate an electric shock that paralyzed Starscream. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a _Fireball_ out at Starscream, and the fire reacted with the electricity to create an enormous explosion that blasted smoke and flames through the air. I dropped out of the cloud, facing up to make sure Starscream didn't sneak attack, but his massive form dropped out of the cloud as well and plummeted to the ground.

I landed on the ground while he crashed and brought up a cloud of dust, and I waited to see if he was still alive. The dust cleared, and he had not one, but two swords held at his sides, pointing forwards. Both of the blades spawned auras of red energy that started at the hilts and ended at the tips. Starscream crossed his swords in front of him, and then swung them both outwards, firing an arc from each that immediately combined into a massive wave of red energy. My eyes widened as the wave came at me, and I disappeared in a burst of speed, allowing it to blast out a ten-foot crater into the ground.

I appeared thirty feet in the air, and Starscream shot at me with one of his swords raised. I saw him coming and pulled out a kunai, and used it to block the strike from one of his swords. The aura around his sword quickly began cleaving through the blade of my knife, and Starscream eventually severed the blade completely, swinging his sword across my side at the same time. While I was in shock at the attack, Starscream came around and kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying down and smashing into the ground, bringing up dust around me.

Starscream immediately fired another arc of energy down at me, but I jumped out of the way, letting it smash into the ground. Starscream came at me with both of his swords raised, and I landed on the ground and pulled out two kunai. I waited until the last instant before Starscream swung his sword at me, and I super-sped around behind him, both kunai fresh from a swing, and a part of the armor that Safeguard offered dropped off of him. Starscream spun around and fired Flashbang at me, but I ducked it and spun around to face him, making some hand signs along the way.

"_Fire Style—!_" Starscream jumped in an arc over me so that I couldn't hit him with my jutsu, and he fired an arc of energy directly down on top of me. The arc blasted up dust, and I rolled out of it with blood all over me. Starscream landed on the ground and fired another arc at me, which hit me directly and sent me sliding back across the ground. I came out in a sitting position, panting in exhaustion and wiping blood from my lip, and Starscream shot at me with one of his swords raised. A burst of chakra shot from my feet while I charged Starscream, but he swung his energy-enhanced sword down on top of me, raising an enormous cloud of dust that sent rubble flying in all directions.

I flew out of the dust cloud, looking back at it to see what had become of Starscream, but he came from above and swung his sword down at me. I spun around and tried to block the slash with my arm, but the blade nearly severed it completely while I was sent flying to the ground. When the dust from the impact cleared, I had my arm held over my injury, and a cloak of green chakra had engulfed the wound, stopping the bleeding. Starscream immediately realized what I was doing and fired an arc of energy down at me, but I got to my feet and leaped out of the way, allowing it to smash into the ground.

Starscream shot at me with both of his swords raised, and I activated another _Flight Jutsu_ and shot off in the other direction. He fired an arc of energy at me, but I flew out of the way, and then fired a _Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ back at him. Starscream used his swords to block the fireballs, and he then swung them both at the same time, firing another wave of energy at me. I saw the wave coming and flew straight up into the air, allowing the wave to fly by, and then crash into a congregation of buildings. When it hit the ground, the gigantic wave created a colossal explosion that completely wrecked the five nearest buildings.

_Dammit!_ I thought to myself bitterly. _Nothing I do works against him! _And that was when I remembered back to our first fight;

_I made some hand signs, but he landed his foot in my stomach and sent me flying down and smashing into the ground. I got back to my feet and jumped back as Starscream came down and landed his sword in the ground where I had been. I fired another pair of rockets at him, which finally hit him, and sent him skidding back, grunting in pain._

I then eyed Flashbang on Starscream's wrist as I flew through the air, and I thought to myself, _I have to get him back._ Starscream shot up at me, and he pointed Flashbang up at me and fired. I swerved out of the way of the rockets, and then pulled out two fire-kunai and threw them down at him. Starscream knocked them both out of the air with one of his swords, and he then pointed his wrist blaster up at me and fired. I was helpless as the blast hit my chest and exploded, sending blood spattering through the air while I plummeted to the ground. Starscream leveled out and fired an arc of energy down at me.

I back-flipped so that I landed on the ground on my feet, and I shot forward so that the arc hit the ground. Without stopping, I made some hand signs and fired a _Fireball Jutsu_ up at Starscream. Starscream crossed both of his swords in front of him, and the red energy off of the blades expanded to form an x-shaped shield that defended him against the flames. I was right behind him with my fist raised, but Starscream immediately spun around and swung his sword, and I was just barely able to sidestep it.

Starscream then brought his other sword down on top of me, but I flipped upside-down, my back to Starscream, and shot towards the ground to evade the strike. Starscream then fired Flashbang at me, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a burst of flame up at Starscream, which intercepted and destroyed the rockets along the way. Starscream raised his sword over his head, and then brought the blade down through the flames, sending them flying on either side of him. Starscream shot at me with both of his swords raised, but I made a hand sign and said, "_Shadow Clone Jutsu!_"

I conjured two clones, which shot off to either side of Starscream, who paid them no mind as he continued coming at me. My clones and I all made the same hand signs, and we said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" Three fireballs shot at Starscream from all sides, and he looked around at them all as they approached. The fireballs converged and collided into him, causing an enormous burst of flame to tear through the air. My clones and I then made another sequence of hand signs, and we said, "_Wind Style: Gust Current!_" We each fired a current of wind at the flames, which caused them to rise up and swell into a twister of pure fire, with Starscream in the center.

I fired five _Pheonix Flower_ fireballs at Starscream, and while four of them hit his body in random spots, the fifth hit his arm and sent Flashbang flying off. I made no hesitation in flying down at the weapon, while Starscream was still caught in the flames. I swung my arm around, bringing it to the bottom of the rocket launcher, and Flashbang attached itself to my wrist while I spun around and fired a pair of rockets up at Starscream.


	126. Chapter 124: Reunited

Sorry about the lack of posts. I've been having some computer problems recently. One more chapter until the Season Five Finale.

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REUNITED

I fired a pair of rockets at Starscream, and he didn't see them coming until just before they hit him. The rockets knocked him out of the smoke cloud that had set from my attack, and he plummeted down and smashed into the ground. _Yes!_ I thought to myself with a wide grin on my face. Starscream planted his palm on the ground and used it to support himself while he got back to his feet. I landed on the ground with Flashbang aimed at him, but Starscream swung his sword upwards, firing another arc of red energy at me. I sidestepped it, allowing it to fly past, and I then fired Flashbang at Starscream once again.

Starscream used his thrusters to lift himself into the air, allowing the rockets to fly under him, and he then fired his wrist blaster at me. I dove out of the way, and Starscream came at me with his sword aimed at my nose. While I was busy waiting for a melee attack, Starscream used his other sword to fire an energy arc at me, that I super-sped out of the way of. I came out twenty feet above him with the Tiger sign weaved, and I said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu down at him, but Starscream looked up at it, and then shot right through it, coming out the top as if it were nothing.

He thrust his sword at me, and I just barely managed to swerve to the side so that it only grazed my face. Starscream then swung his other sword around, and I ducked it, while Starscream kicked me down, sending me crashing into the ground. He then swung both his swords at the same time, firing a cross-arc of energy down at me. The cross-arc hit the dust I was concealed in and brought up even more, tearing the ground apart with it. I was ten feet behind Starscream with the Tiger sign once again weaved, and he looked back at me just before I fired a _Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ at him.

Starscream shot off in the opposite direction, the tiny fireballs in full pursuit, and he then spun around so that he flew backwards, and he gave his sword one massive swing, firing an enormous arc of energy at the fireballs. The fireballs were all extinguished by the arc, which then came at me, but I went to the side of it, and fired Flashbang back at Starscream. Starscream veered down and flew towards the ground, and I looked down at Flashbang with a smile on my face. _It's good to have you back,_ I said in my mind. In response, I felt a wave of joy emanating from the Mini-Con.

"Don't get sentimental yet!" Starscream said as he closed in from about ten feet away with his sword raised. I instinctively pulled out a kunai and blocked the stab, ducking under the blade at the same time, and I then kicked Starscream in the side, sending him five feet away. I then back-flipped so that I was upright again, and I flew away just as Starscream fired an arc of energy at me. The arc flew down and crashed into the ground while I flew overhead, and Starscream watched me with a blank look on his face. "I guess," he began, "it's time to show you what it really means to fight a Decepticon." And that was when he started transforming.

He turned into his jet mode, and then shot after me. I looked behind me as he came, and he fired a volley of machine gun bullets at me. I super-sped out of the way just in time, and I landed on Starscream's body, facing his tail, and I leaped off before he could do anything about it. Starscream swerved around to come at me again, and he then fired four missiles at me. I saw them coming, and then made some hand signs and fired a _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ at them. The fireballs hit the missiles and bounced right off, making me sweat as they approached me.

Finally, one-by-one, the fireballs began taking down the missiles, and it looked like I would be safe. That was until the fourth and final missile hit me directly in the torso, creating a giant explosion that knocked me out of the air. I plummeted towards the ground, and Starscream flew down after me, aiming his crosshairs at me. I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" The air around me condensed into a sphere that deflected the storm of machine gun bullets that Starscream fired at me.

The _Air Shield_ dispersed, and I fired Flashbang at Starscream. Starscream veered out of the way, and he then fired a volley of blasts (not machine gun bullets or missiles), and my eyes widened as they came at me. All of the blasts produced a smoke cloud as they drove me down and smashed me into the ground, and Starscream continued coming down at me. He started transforming into his robot form, coming down at me with his sword raised. I shot out of the way at the exact same time that Starscream rammed the blade of his sword into the ground. I skidded backwards, squatted to the ground with my arm held out in defense, and blood spurted from a fresh gash that had been cut into it.

"Damn," I said as I panted lightly. "I was really trying to avoid doing this, but..." I got back to my feet and looked at Starscream with a grin on my face. "I guess it's time to show you how much stronger I've gotten since last time we met." With this, fiery-red lines resembling cracks in the earth spread across my entire body, and they faded into black while purple chakra spiraled around me. Starscream's eyes widened as he witnessed this, and I disappeared in a burst of speed, destroying the ground under my feet. I rammed my fist into Starscream's gut, punching a deep dent into his armor and sending him rolling across the ground.

I swung a _Chidori_ down into the ground, and the impact generated a shockwave that sent a cloud of dust at Starscream. A giant explosion rose thirty feet into the air, and Starscream laid at the back end of it, with pieces of his armor scattered all over the place. He attempted to get back to his feet, but he seemed to be in too much pain to complete the process. "What…the hell!?" he said with an evil glare. He just barely managed to put his sword out in front of him as I rammed my leg into it, and my strength forced him up into the air at an angle.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired a fireball that was much more intense and powerful than normal, and Starscream crossed his arms to defend himself. The _Fireball_ hit him and violently exploded, sending smoke and flames rising into the air. A tendril of smoke dropped out of the cloud and smashed into the ground, raising dust upon impact. Starscream charged out of the dust cloud with his sword aimed, and he thrust it at my face. I ducked to the side of the stab, and Starscream swung his other fist around at me, but I successfully blocked it with my arm.

I collided my fist into Starscream's face, punching a dent in it and knocking him back a step. I grabbed his arm with both hands and flipped myself into the air over him, and then brought my leg down on top of him, smashing him into the ground with all my strength and punching a crater into the dirt. I leaped into the air and made some more hand signs, and then fired another _Fireball_ down at him. Starscream swung his energy-enhanced sword upwards through the fireball, severing it in half and sending it smashing to the ground on either side of him.

Starscream then grabbed his other sword off of his shoulder and swung it through the air, firing an arc of energy at me. I disappeared before the arc hit me, and I reappeared right behind Starscream with two fire-kunai in my hand. Two explosions rose over the Hidden Leaf, sending rubble flying in all directions.

[Nichi's point-of-view] While Matt was busy fighting Starscream, Taylor, Erin, Sasuke, Kakashi, Naruto, Dan and I were all gathered on nearby buildings, looking down at him. My eyes were wide with fright, and I thought to myself _I hate it when he uses that thing._

"Don't worry." I looked over and saw that Sasuke, who was standing right next to me, had been watching me. "The Curse Mark that Matt wields is nothing more than a concentration of raw power. It's how he uses it that decides rather it's actually a curse, or a blessing. And I know Matt; I know that he would never make a decision that would negatively influence that power. That's where I went down. I've focused my life solely on revenge, and that led me to the nearest source of power I could find. What I got in return was nice, but it would have been nice to have not called that freak 'teacher'."

"So, wait a minute," I said to him. "You and Matt made a deal that if you helped us win the war, he would have to help you hunt down your brother; is that right?" I asked.

"Yes, that's correct," Sasuke confirmed. I had a lot to say about this, but I instead chose to let the subject drop in favor of watching Matt's fight with Starscream.

[Matt's point-of-view] As the dust began to clear, Starscream was in the midst of it, panting heavily, his sword raised half-heartedly. I was standing twenty feet away from him, looking at him with an unsmiling, triumphant expression. "Don't you dare," Starscream began, his voice boiling with anger. "Don't you _dare_ look at me like that!" He swung his sword with all his strength, firing an enormous arc of energy at me. I watched it come, and disappeared just before it hit me, coming out ten feet behind Starscream. Starscream looked back to see me just standing there, looking down at him with the same triumphant look.

In a fit of anger, he swung his sword up, firing a wave of energy that tore the ground apart as it came at me. I was in the air right behind Starscream, facing the opposite direction but looking back at him with my fist raised. I spun around and hit him with all my strength, blasting up dust as he went sliding across the ground gouging out a line in the earth as he came over and smashed into a metal tower. "If you don't feel like dying, I recommend you get your asses out of there A.S.A.P.," I yelled to the shinobi who were taking refuge in the tower.

They all immediately evacuated, and after fifteen seconds, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired an enormous wave of flame out of my mouth at Starscream, who watched it come with wide eyes and an open jaw. The flames engulfed the bottoms of the tower right behind Starscream, and then half a dozen towers behind it, turning the streets into pure Hell. I continued the stream, but my eyes widened as the glowing-red blade of a sword came out of the flames, and I just barely managed to duck out of the way.

Starscream came out of the flames, and he kicked me with all his strength, sending me skidding fifty feet backwards across the ground. Starscream came after me with his sword raised, and I leaped backwards just before he brought it down to the ground. He then swung his other sword through the air, firing an arc of energy at me. I disappeared in a burst of speed, and Starscream spun around and gave his sword a massive swing, firing an enormous wave of energy just as I appeared there. My eyes were wide in shock as the wave passed over me, and blood spattered from all parts of my body.

The wave dissipated, and I was panting heavily, blood dripping to the ground from various wounds. Starscream pointed his arm at me and fired a missile, and I just barely managed to duck it as Starscream jumped at me with his sword raised. I barrel-rolled out of the way, and Starscream fired a blast from his wrist blaster at me, hitting me directly and sending me flying through the air. Starscream fired another arc of energy at me, but I managed to super-speed out of the way, coming out ten feet in front of where I disappeared.

Starscream shot at me with both of his swords raised, and the instant before he got to me, I jumped in an arc over him. Starscream spun around and swung his sword at me, catching me across the side as I dropped down and landed on the ground. I leaped away just before Starscream could follow through, and he held his sword out and charged up red energy into it. He gave his sword a massive swing, unleashing an enormous wave of energy that tore the ground apart as it came at me. I shot backwards to evade it, but it was much faster than I was, and I had to super-speed out of the way.

Starscream shot at me with his sword raised, and I braced myself for his assault. I ducked the slash with his sword, and then jumped back a couple feet to evade a downward slash from his second blade. He then swung both his swords outward at the same time, firing a cross-arc of energy at me. I jumped up and made my body parallel to the ground so that I slipped between the halves of the two arcs, and I landed on the ground as they flew past. Starscream brought his sword down on top of me, but I rolled out of the way, prompting Starscream to kick me in the gut, sending me flying back with another arc in pursuit.

I back-flipped and landed on the ground, allowing the arc to fly overhead, and Starscream came at me once again with his swords raised. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired out a fireball at Starscream, and he was hit head-on, but he came right through it as if it were nothing. I jumped over his slash and kicked him in the face, stopping him cold, and I flipped around and landed the tip of my foot in the top of his head, knocking him face-first into the ground. Starscream immediately got to his fours, and I landed on the ground and swung my foot around, kicking him in the side and sending him rolling across the ground.

Before he even stopped rolling, Starscream fired another arc at me, but I super-sped to twenty feet above him, with the Tiger sign weaved. "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" Starscream saw what I was doing and shot up into the air just as I fired my jutsu out. As soon as he was in the clear, he came at me with his sword raised, but I pulled out a kunai and used it to block his strike. He drove me down and smashed me into the ground, and then charged up energy into his sword and brought it down on top of me.

A massive explosion rose up above the buildings, sending rubble flying across the village, and my comrades' eyes all widened in horror as they watched. The dust cloud that had set over us faded, and I was lying on the ground with a massive gash in my torso that was pooling blood under me. I was panting heavily with pain, and one of my eyes was closed while the other was half-open. My Curse Mark was glowing fiery-red, in danger of receding back into my body for lack of energy. Starscream had his sword pointed down at me, glowing with energy, and the paper-bomb on his back exploded, knocking him forward and off of me.

I rolled over and leaped backwards, while pieces of Starscream's armor dropped to the ground around him. There was now a gaping hole in his torso, and he was panting heavily in pain as he looked down at it. We were both now mortally wounded, and we knew that this battle wouldn't last much longer. "Alright," Starscream said in a menacing growl. "My patience is at its limit, and it's high time I wrapped this up." He pointed his arm at me and fired four missiles, and my eyes widened as they came. I leaped into the air just as one smashed into the ground, creating an explosion that rose twelve feet into the air, and the other three missiles pursued me through the air.

I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and flew away from Starscream, fleeing to the buildings. I weaved in and out of the metal constructs, trying to trick the missiles, but they kept steadily on my tail for the first two-hundred yards. I then made some hand signs, and then bent upside down and fired a _Phoenix Flower_ out at the missiles. Two explosions blasted the air apart, and the fourth and final missile flew through the smoke and flames at me. I turned upright and let it fly under me, and it then came up into the air, and back down on top of me, crashing into the ground. I reappeared twenty yards away from where the missile had hit, and I was looking at the explosion as it unfolded.

Meanwhile, Starscream's thrusters, which were located on his shoulders and pointing back, came around, pivoting on his shoulders, and came to a rest so that they pointed directly forward. "It's time for you to die," Starscream said with a malicious grin. Concentrations of yellow energy appeared in the barrels of the thrusters. After a few seconds of charging, Starscream unleashed a colossal beam of energy at me, and the light from it shone even around the half-dozen buildings I was hiding behind. The beam crashed into a building and let out an almighty explosion that completely decimated ten buildings and everyone inside of them.

The blast punched a two-hundred-foot crater into the ground, and dust billowed out of it, concealing me. Starscream witnessed this chaos, and he then uttered several soft chuckles. After another second, he broke into triumphant laughter, and said, "I won! I won, dammit! After all of this, I finally killed hi-!" Starscream's eyes widened in shock as he looked back into the dust. Purple chakra poured out of the dust cloud, which then cleared to reveal a concentration of chakra with myself at the center. "What…what on earth is that?" Starscream said in pure shock.

"This…" I said as the purple chakra cleared, revealing tan, spiked rock covering my entire body. My eyes glowed yellow through the shadows of my new form that covered my face. "…is my Second Stage."


	127. Chapter 125: Evolution of Power

Thank you to everyone who has made it to this point in the series. If you're one of the people who have criticized the first section (rightly so) and are now reading this, I hope you will tell me if my writing has improved. In spite of some of my crude responses to the criticism I've received, I do appreciate you taking the time to write out what was wrong with this story. The final season of Naruto Chronicles will start on November 23rd. The Season Five finale begins now.

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EVOLUTION OF POWER

Armor comprised entirely of spiky rock that was tan in color coated my entire body. My messy, usually-brown, shoulder-length hair had become a light-purple and had grown down to the small of my back. The irises of my eyes glowed yellow, and I was glaring at Starscream with a triumphant smile. Starscream was still in shock at my transformation, and he didn't even make an attempt to fight.

"What are you waiting for?" I said in a dark voice. "Well, if you're not gonna come at me…." I was now right behind him with my armored fist raised. "…then I guess I'll just have to finish you off.

An explosion of dust blasted through the air, and Starscream flew backwards out of it, landing on the ground twenty feet away. There was a giant tear in his shoulder that almost completely severed his arm. The dust cleared, and I was still looking at him with the same malicious grin. Starscream's eyes widened as if he had just snapped back to reality, and he then raised his sword in a haphazard defense. I grabbed the blade of his sword and pushed it upwards so that it couldn't hit me, and I then buried my fist in Starscream's gut. Starscream howled in pain, while I tore my fist out through his side, and I then let him drop to the ground.

I then raised my fist and brought it down on top of him, but he rolled out of the way, allowing me to bury it in the ground. Starscream then transformed into a jet and flew off, leaving me to look casually after him. Starscream then veered around and came at me head-on, and he fired a volley of blasts and missiles at me. I didn't even flinch as they came, and I held my arm out in front of me to defend myself. The collection of projectiles hit me and raised an explosion that traveled across fifty feet, concealing me in smoke and flames. When the carnage died, I was wielding a circular panel of spiked rock that was mounted on my wrist.

As I saw this, my eyes widened, and I said, "Well, whaddaya know?" I then focused my chakra into the shield, and it then began to morph. The rock shifted forward, passing over my wrist and sharpening into a sword. Starscream came around for another strike, but I was right beside him as I swung my sword through his wing. The wing fell to the ground while Starscream spiraled down after it, but he transformed back into his robot mode and fired a missile at me just as he landed on the ground. I knocked the missile away with my bare arm, and I then held my hand up and looked at it.

"No," I said thoughtfully to myself. "No, I couldn't be _that_ lucky…could I?" I then pointed my fist at Starscream, and shards of rock shot off of my wrist at him. Starscream's eyes widened as they came, and he swung his sword through the air, knocking the shards away. "Yes!" I said excitedly to myself as I looked at my hand once again and the armor covering it. Starscream, noticing I wasn't paying attention to him, pointed his wrist blaster up at me and fired. I saw the blast coming and was right behind Starscream with my rock sword fresh from a swing.

An incision tore across Starscream's back, and he dropped to the ground while I turned around to look down at him. "Give it up," I said to him firmly. "You don't have a prayer of beating me. Crawl away now, before you get yourself killed."

Starscream's teeth were gritted as he tried to pull himself back to his feet, and he said, "You…you piece of _shit!_" He spun around to his feet and swung his energy-enhanced sword, firing an enormous wave of energy at me. I let the wave pass over me without even flinching, and when the light died down, I was completely unharmed. "Do you really think that I'm going to let some piss-ant human like you get the better of me!? Well I got news for ya! You haven't beaten me yet!" He swung both his swords and fired a cross-arc of energy at me, but I caught it with my bare hand and threw it aside.

Starscream came at me with his swords raised, but I caught his first strike without sustaining a scratch. Starscream then swung his other sword around, letting out a blast of energy that shrouded me in smoke. I grabbed his face, shoved him off his feet, and slammed him into the ground, punching a crater in the earth under him. I then held my arm up over him, my rock blade pointed down at him, and I shifted my grip from his face to his throat. Before I could finish him, a gun opened up on his shoulder, and a wide beam of red energy hit me square in the face, forcing me to loosen my grip, and he knocked my hand away and got back to his feet.

I immediately recovered from the assault, and Starscream landed his fist in my stomach, causing me to just barely hunch over. Starscream then punched me in the jaw, knocking my face back a few inches, but I then tore my fist through his side, and then slashed him down across the torso with my rock sword. Time seemed to slow down as Starscream then dropped to his knees, and it became clear that he was no longer able to fight. He was panting, taking in his last few breaths, before he keeled over and hit the ground. I looked down at him with an expressionless look, but my eyes then widened as my armor started cracking. All at once, my Second Stage shattered, and the Curse Mark receded back into my neck.

I dropped to my knees, and I was panting so heavily I was at the borderline of hyperventilation. My eyes were wide in shock, and unbearable pain was tearing its way across my entire body. Blood was dripping out of my mouth, and my vision was blurry. I planted my hands on the ground to try and keep myself up, and I felt the vibrations of several people landing. I paid little notice as Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Dan, Taylor, Erin, and Nichi all ran over to see if I was okay.

Sasuke's eyes were narrowed, and his mouth was slightly ajar as he looked down at me. _That,_ he thought to himself, _was no ordinary Second Stage. But what could it possibly have been?_

Kakashi looked down at me with an angry glare, and he thought to himself, _Orochimaru, you sick freak. You never cease to amaze me at the depths you will sink. To put this kind of power in the hands of someone so young…it's animal._

_Oh, my gosh,_ Naruto thought to himself. _I can't believe that_ this_ is the same person that I witnessed compete in the Chunin Exam preliminaries just last year._

It took almost five minutes, but I finally managed to get back to my feet, although I was still dizzy. "Well," Kakashi said to us. "It's over." I was still panting in pain, but I had a smile on my face nonetheless. Everyone was too exhausted to show any physical display of joy, but the notion between us, as residents of the Hidden Leaf and as comrades, that the joy experienced by us at this moment was unparalleled by most of the world.

"Now then," Kakashi continued as he looked around the village. The rest of us looked around as well, noting the numerous piles of rubble that had once been the Hidden Leaf. "It looks like we'll be spending the next few months…or years…cleaning up the place."

"I guess we better get started," I said as I looked around. With that, we all started walking.

"Guh, wait."

We all turned around to see Starscream looking up at us, his broken body shivering. "What is it?" I asked.

"You may…have defeated me," he said to me, "but you have yet to face the final battle."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean my leader," he stated.

My eyes then widened in shock. "Your leader?" I asked, bewildered.

"Yes," Starscream answered. "Megatron. He is the leader of the Decepticons, and now that you have defeated me, he will surely come for this world. Trust me, boy; you are soon to experience terror unlike which you have ever known. He will be merciless. He will kill everyone you've ever loved, and he will make your death long and torturous. But," he laughed softly as he broke into a grin, "it's my job to make sure that that never happens."

An unidentifiable noise sounded behind us, making our eyes widen in horror, and we looked around to see the dark-purple space cruiser, the Revolution, exiting a wormhole. Starscream died, and we looked on as a monstrous device dropped out of the ship's cargo. It was a giant, purple, pulsating orb that looked as if it was charging up.

"Damn, what the hell is that?" I asked in horror.

"By the looks of it," Dan said grimly, "it's an EMP."

"What!?" Nichi said in terror.

"They're going to wipe out the chakra of every shinobi left alive in the village, so that they can come in and pick us off once and for all," Kakashi stated.

The EMP continued to gather energy, and it was clear that it would soon be ready to fire. "Someone will have to go up there and destroy it," Sasuke said.

After a moment, I said, "I'll do it."

Everyone gasped at this, and Kakashi said, "Matt, if you do that, the likely result will be that you lose your powers forever."

"Yeah," I replied, "I know."

"No, wait!" Naruto said. "Let me do it! You're stronger than I am, you need your powers!"

"Can you fly?" I asked him. Naruto, clearly stumped, didn't answer. "Didn't think so," I said to him. By this point, the EMP was just moments away from firing. "Stand back," I said. I made the Ram hand sign, and a stream of chakra poured out of the bottoms of my feet. All of them took a step back, and I shot up at the Revolution, making hand signs and forming a _Chidori_. I steadily approached the Revolution and the EMP, and it looked like I would be able to just make it in time.

As I flew, a voice in my head spoke, _If you do this, you know what will happen…don't you? Yeah,_ I answered. _I know._ By this point, it was too late to turn back, and the EMP was just about to fire. I poured all of my chakra into the _Flight Jutsu_, while in the meantime, Nichi stood on the corner of a building roof, looking up at me with wide eyes and open mouth. I closed the gap between myself and the EMP, and I rammed my jutsu with all my power into it. Giant tendrils of lightning were thrown across the village, while the sound of birds chirping echoed out, magnified a thousand times.

Several seconds passed by, during all of which, Nichi kept her eyes trained on me. I pressed my jutsu against the EMP, and as I did so, chakra engulfed my entire body, just before gradually being blown away.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] After a few seconds of watching Matt, I turned around and started walking away.

"You're not gonna make him come with you?" I stopped cold and turned around to see Naruto looking at me.

"If this is going to end like Kakashi says it will, then he'll be all but useless to me. And besides…this is his home. This is where he belongs."

Naruto didn't react to my statement, and with that I turned back around and continued walking.

[Matt's point-of-view] I put all my strength into suppressing the EMP blast, and after a few moments, the weapon seemed to stall. A tendril of lightning shot across the sky, hitting Nichi square in the gut and knocking her off her feet. I gave my _Chidori_ one final push, and the EMP fractured. I could tell that a major backfire was traveling up into the ship, and after a few seconds, a colossal explosion blew out the ship's side. The ship gradually tore cleanly in half, and the entire structure became engulfed in a gigantic ball of fire. The two halves of the ship plummeted to the ground, and a tendril of smoke dropped out of the main explosion.

The smoke cleared, and I was plummeting towards the ground—eyes closed, teeth gritted—at a pace that would assuredly splatter me. When I was a hundred feet off the ground, I came to a sudden stop, and Kakashi held me in his arms, supported by a stream of chakra emanating from the bottoms of his feet. He descended at a slow pace, until we landed on the ground while Kakashi put me back on my feet. I looked down at my arm, at the coat of chakra shrouding it, which then gradually faded until it finally died. I watched this with a remorseful glare, and I closed my fingers into a fist.

An hour later, anyone who was still alive and able-bodied was currently digging through the rubble of the village, searching for fallen comrades. Kakashi kicked over a giant boulder, which revealed a shinobi with blond hair, laying on the ground and covered in blood. Kakashi sighed and said, "Oh, Mumei."

"There's another one over here," I called from thirty feet away, as I looked down at the corpse of another Hidden Leaf shinobi.

"Matt!" The scream rent the air like a gunshot, and I looked around to see Nichi running towards me. "Matt!" she said again, and it was clear she was in a state of terror.

"Nichi, what's wrong?" I said, eyes wide. Kakashi immediately stopped what he was doing and looked over at us.

Nichi came to a stop in front of me, and said, "I can't…I don't…."

"Nichi, what is it, what's wrong?" I asked, grasping her shoulders. She gulped, and held out her hand.

At first, everything seemed perfectly fine, but as I looked, a current of electricity appeared, flowing around her hand.


	128. Chapter 126: The New Business

Welcome to the final season of Naruto Chronicles.

* * *

THE NEW BUSINESS

Night engulfed the streets of San Antonio, Texas, as the clocks read two in the morning, and almost everyone was asleep; all except for a group of four people, dressed entirely in black as they walked down the streets with assault rifles held at the ready. Dan Mako headed the squad of SNIS agents as they snuck down the streets, doing their best to be as silent as possible. Dan put two fingers to his ear and spoke into his communicator, "Director, what's the status of target?"

"You're getting warmer," said a woman's voice on the other side. In the center of a room that was equipped with several computers lining the sides and a massive monitor at the front stood SNIS Director Katherine McKinley. She had a communicator in her ear with a microphone that came down to her mouth as she looked at the big screen, watching Dan and his team from a bird's eye view. "You are currently fifty meters from target," McKinley informed them. "Hawkeye should be able to sense him by now."

As soon as she said this Dan tapped a blue contraption situated on the side of his head, and a green, transparent panel popped out and came down to rest in front of his eye. Dan looked through the Mini-Con Hawkeye's screen as he scanned the buildings and alleys for any sign of the target. Eventually his eye rested on a mass of orange appearing in the screen, but where Dan looked with his other eye there was a brick wall.

"Target located," Dan whispered to McKinley. He pointed two fingers at the wall, prompting his three squad members to silently run over, and two of them kneeled down ten feet apart from one another as the third placed a device on the wall between them. The third man backed off and came behind Dan as the two pointed their rifles at the spot where the device was. A timer on the device counted down, and as soon as it hit zero the charge exploded, blasting out a portion of the wall and setting a cloud of dust in the air.

The two agents on either side of the blown-out wall stood up and walked over to the hole, their guns raised, peering into the dust. The dust cleared, and a giant mechanical form straightened up as it came to its feet. "Engage!" Dan yelled. The four of them immediately pulled the triggers of their assault rifles, firing streams of tiny red blasts at the heavy unit, who was unfazed as it fired its blaster hand down at them. Two of Dan's squad mates dodged the blasts, but the third one was hit twice in the chest and knocked back, while the rest of them closed in on the heavy unit.

The heavy unit then hiked its leg up, then brought it back down and slammed it into the ground with all its strength, generating a shockwave that knocked Dan and his other two squad mates through the air. The three of them rolled across the ground, one of them into a wall, but Dan rolled to a kneel as he aimed his assault rifle at the heavy unit again and started firing. The heavy unit brushed off the blasts as it stomped forward, and a compartment opened up on either shoulder to reveal missile launchers, prompting Dan to dive out of the way as the heavy unit fired a pair of missiles down at him.

The missiles hit the ground and brought a cloud of fire into the air, and meanwhile one of Dan's squad mates ran forward and chucked a little gray ball with a light-blue ring in the center. The ball dropped down and hit the ground at the heavy unit's feet, and then unleashed a powerful wave of electricity that knocked the heavy unit to the ground. The heavy unit's weight brought up dust off the ground when it hit, and Dan immediately ran over with a slender, dark-green tube in his hand that had two prongs sticking out in either direction on the end of it.

Dan pressed a button on the butt of the hilt, causing red electricity to spring out and form the blade of a knife, and Dan jumped into the air and came down on the heavy unit, ramming the tip of the knife into its face. Dan wrenched the knife out through the side of the heavy unit's head, causing it to shut down while Dan stood up. Dan then walked over to his injured squad mate, and rested him against a wall.

"You're gonna be alright, Ryland," Dan said to Special Agent Tyler Ryland.

"You're damn straight, Boss," Ryland responded with a smile that was contorted by pain.

"Dorval! Terrones!" Dan called. Special Agents Clinton Dorval and James Terrones both walked over and stood next to their Lead Special Agent. "Alright, boys," Dan said, "mission accomplished."

The next day, Mid Rivers Mall was packed with people, shifting between stores with their shopping bags in tow. It was a Saturday afternoon during which the sun shone brightly, illuminating a warm day. Taylor Edwards and Erin Bell were sitting in the food court, eating lunch after a long day. Erin looked around at all of the people surrounding them and said, "Remember last time we were here?"

"Yeah," Taylor said with a cold laugh. "There was no one here, and then later we found out that all of the residents of Saint Peters had been taken hostage by the Decepticons. If we hadn't have found that data in the wreckage of the Revolution, SNIS never would have been able to find them and rescue them."

"A whole lot's changed since then," Erin said with a wistful look.

"Yeah, I'm glad to have some peace and quiet after the war," Taylor agreed. "Do you know how Matt's doing?" Erin asked.

"Director McKinley told me that he was spending most of his days at SNIS, trying to find some form of combat that reminded him of his former life," Taylor answered.

In another part of the city of Saint Peters, two ships flew through the air. McKinley watched them from the ground as the ships started coming over her, when two heat-seeking missiles came in from out of nowhere and crashed into them. The ships were blown out of the air and sent flying over McKinley in balls of fire, and a third ship flew overhead just as the wreckages collided into the ground. This third ship veered around and came to a halt ten feet off the ground before descending and landing on the surface.

The cockpit opened up, and I unbuckled my seatbelt and climbed out of the ship, then hopped down to the ground and started walking over towards McKinley. Dan met me on the way there and started walking next to me, and he said, "How do you like being an SNIS Special Agent?"

"Hate it with a passion," I answered.

"Yeah, that's what I figured," Dan commented as we came over to McKinley.

"You did good, Withau," McKinley said to me. "I'd say that concludes your pilot training."

"Phenomenal," I responded. "How's she doing?" I asked.

"She's doing well," McKinley answered. "You should go see for yourself."

I immediately turned around and started walking in another direction with McKinley and Dan following me, and I came up to an area that was surging with electricity. An intense beam of light-purple electricity coursed through the air, and at one end stood Nichi Schroeder, her fists producing the electricity. At the other end was a probe attached to a post that came down to a large machine, hooked up to a computer manned by an agent.

"Alright," the agent said over the sounds of the electricity. "This thing only measures up to ten thousand volts, and you're well beyond that."

Nichi then put more effort into the beam, and after a moment the entire machine became engulfed in electricity, and steam poured out of all sides of it while the agent started furiously typing on the computer. The machine then spewed smoke from several parts, and the computer monitor went black, leaving the agent sitting there with nothing. The agent looked at Nichi and said, "Alright then."

Nichi turned around to see us standing there, and she walked over to us. "Hey!" she said as she came to a stop in front of me.

"Hey," I responded. "You look like you've really got a handle on that," I commented.

"Yeah," Nichi responded passively. "It was hard to control at first, but I'm starting to get used to it. Now that we have an idea of how much power I can produce I'm going to go do some exercises on how to use it in combat. Wanna come?" she asked me.

"Nah, I got some stuff I gotta do," I answered.

"Okay," she responded. She turned around and ran off while I walked away, leaving Dan and McKinley there. I walked through the streets of Saint Peters, hands in my pockets, eyes at the ground in front of me.

_It's been six months since I lost my powers._ Around me children played in the remnants of nice weather before the oncoming winter. The innocence and happiness of the city surrounded me on all sides. _And it hasn't gotten any easier._ People continued living their lives as normally as possible, but I could tell that it was halfhearted. The terror of having been captured by the Decepticlones was still fresh in many peoples' minds, and it would be a very long time before that fear would ever truly go away. I had been in the Hidden Leaf hospital following the war when McKinley sent a team to rescue all of the citizens, so I couldn't be a part of it.

Ever since the war ended I had joined SNIS full time, relying solely on technology and weapons for combat as opposed to chakra and jutsu. I had considered visiting the Hidden Leaf Village several times, but what would be the point? I was alienated from them now. I wasn't a shinobi anymore. I was just a regular kid who had recently learned how to shoot a gun. Nichi, Taylor, and Erin had all joined the SNIS after the war as well, and together we continued to comprise Threat Interception Team-Juliet.

Nichi had been named our Lead Special Agent, which I had made no comment to. It made the utmost sense that she would be put in charge, as she had far more combat ability than any of us. Upon having first lost my powers I had tried to cope with it, live my life as nothing had happened, and act like I had never been a shinobi to begin with. But this failed miserably, and I eventually sank into depression. I then devoted all of my time and energies into being as useful to the SNIS as possible, which helped take the depression off to a degree, but the memories were still there.

Sasuke hadn't been seen ever since he left the Hidden Leaf at the end of the war. In spite of the memories, in spite of all of the evidence laid out before me, I still didn't believe his claims about my past. I had lived my life under the impression that I was born in the United States, that my parents were normal and were still very much alive, and I didn't intend to let that change. I never had found an opportunity to talk to Kakashi about it, but even if I had, what would there have been to say? No doubt he would have just told me what I already heard, and then what? I wouldn't have believed him either, and I wouldn't be any further than I was now.

As I walked I arrived at my house, a small, one-story building made of brown wood, and I grabbed the handle and opened the door. "Hello," a cheerful, feminine voice greeted me when I walked in. The owner was a woman at the age of forty, with long, brown hair the same color as mine down past her shoulders, a height of five feet and two inches, and bright, green eyes.

"Hey, Mom," I greeted her.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Good," I answered. Ever since I had come home for the first time after the war, I knew things had been different between us. I had somehow unintentionally, let on that I knew about what Sasuke told me, and our conversations had been nothing if not strained since then. I had never been able to bring up the conversation with her either, and I had no intention to, because I knew what the end result would be. And I still didn't believe it.

I walked over to a wooden door and opened up, walking into a bedroom that had clothes and items scattered all over the place. The walls were painted a light tan color, and a fine wooden furniture set lined the walls. I sat down on my bed and opened the drawer of my end table, and pulled out an off-white backpack that was torn in several places. I opened up the pack and reached into it, pulling out a metal kunai knife. I set the bag down on the bed and felt the tip of the blade, examining its sharpness. I looked into the bag and saw my supply of dozens upon dozens of kunai, shuriken, and other shinobi tools. I never used any of them anymore, instead preferring to use the weapons that McKinley provided me as a Special Agent of SNIS.

The next day I got off the bus and walked up to DuBray Middle School, where I entered the big, beautiful building to head to my eighth grade classes. DuBray itself was made of reddish-tan bricks, and it had a massive front wall rising three stories that was made entirely of glass. As far as the students around me knew, I was just a regular fourteen-year-old kid. None of them had any idea of my double life as a shinobi or an SNIS agent. The school also doubled as headquarters of SNIS global (unbeknownst to any of the students), so every single one of the teachers knew who I really was.

I listened in my classes and did my homework as normally as anyone else. I always sweated my way through third hour, not stopping to take a breath until the class was over and nothing out of the ordinary had happened. This time it wasn't until lunch that my life decided to go to Hell. I ate lunch alone, mainly because I had no friends. Nichi always offered to let me eat lunch with her and her friends, but I declined. They already had the impression that we were dating (yes, in eighth grade), and I didn't feel like enhancing that. I ate my lunch without looking or talking to anybody, when the sudden sense that something was rushing towards the school made my eyes widen.

A volley of light-blue blasts made the giant glass window shatter, causing screams of chaos as three hundred students ran from falling glass. I was already on my feet and standing my ground against the tidal wave of fleeing students, looking out the window with a battle-ready stance. After a few seconds a squad of four yellow and black robots marched into the school, and they immediately opened fire on any of the students in their sights. _Dammit!_ I said in my head angrily. I reached down to my belt and pulled out a dark-green pistol, and aimed it at the medium units and fired several blasts of red electricity at them. One of the medium units was knocked off its feet from the blasts, while the other three immediately aimed their fire at me.

I dove out of the way of the oncoming blasts, and I got back to my feet and ran behind one of the pillars in the commons. I could hear the three medium units walking around the pillar from different directions, and I knew they had their blasters trained on my location. With my pistol held up and ready to fire, I tightened my grip around the handle, and then shot out of the pillar, firing an onslaught of blasts at the medium units. I managed to hit one in the head, shutting it offline immediately, and I tore another one to pieces while the final one fired back at me. I ducked the blasts as they flew overhead, and I aimed my pistol at the medium unit and pulled the trigger, but all I got was a click coming from the barrel.

I pressed a button on the side of the handle and ejected the magazine, then ran out of the way of blaster fire from the medium unit while I put in another magazine. I fired a blast at the medium unit's leg, knocking it down to its fours, and I then ran straight at it, pulling out an Electric Knife and activating the blade. I leaped at the down medium unit and rammed the electric blade into the back of the medium unit's neck, severing its head completely while its body dropped to the ground.

I deactivated the blade and pocketed the knife, looking down at the medium unit's body with disgust, when a series of massive booms made me look out the window again with wide eyes. I waited in anticipation as a gargantuan mechanical behemoth stomped into the school, and the heavy unit glared down at me through menacing, green, glowing eyes as it opened up its missile packs.


	129. Chapter 127: Flight For Fear

FLIGHT FOR FEAR

The heavy unit glared down at me, its missile packs open and ready to fire, and I spread my legs and bent my knees, preparing myself to either dodge or attack. The heavy unit fired several blasts from its blaster down at me, but I dove out of the way, barrel-rolling across the ground and coming to a kneel as I fired back at its head. Most of the blasts hit, but the heavy unit shrugged them off like they were nothing as he fired two missiles down at me. I ran straight out of the way, the missiles attempting to pursue me, but I easily outmaneuvered them, allowing them to fly over and crash into the wall, bringing down chunks of rubble.

I ignored the shocked and impressed looks I was getting from students as I stared down the heavy unit, and I waited for it to make a move. The heavy unit fired several more blasts down at me, but I ran straight at it, ducking and dodging the blasts as they came at me, and I pulled out my Electric Knife once again as I came at the heavy unit. Before I could get within jumping range the heavy unit slammed its foot on the ground, generating a massive shockwave that sent me flying through the air and crash-landing on the ground ten feet away. I groaned in pain as I rose to a sitting position, rubbing my head, and several stomping footsteps made me look up to see the heavy unit baring down on me, aiming its blaster at my body.

That was when a massive arc of electricity hit the heavy unit in the chest, causing it to flail in pain as the electricity tore apart its armor, and the Decepticlone was eventually blown apart, sending pieces scattering across the ground. Nichi ran over to me and bent down, helping me to my feet as I cleared the blurriness from my vision.

"Are you okay?" she asked me earnestly.

"Yeah," I answered.

"When did you two become superheroes?"

Nichi and I both looked around to see every student in the cafeteria staring at us, some with looks of shock on their faces, some with amazement, some with fear. Nichi and I both looked around us, taking in all of the students eyeing us and judging us, and after a minute I said, "We need to leave." Nichi nodded, and we both made a break towards the shattered glass window. As we ran towards it I caught the eye of Jenny Rodrick, who was looking at me as I ran by with eyes widened in horror, as well as inquiry. I made no comment to her as we ran out of DuBray, and got as far away from the school as we could before we grew tired.

I had my hands on my knees as I panted in exhaustion, but Nichi was only somewhat affected by the sprint. "What do you think's gonna happen?" she asked me.

"The school's gonna close," I answered. "Parents are gonna start a riot, saying that the school isn't safe anymore and that DuBray needs to be shut down for allowing something so terrible to happen to their students."

"What do you mean?" Nichi asked.

"You didn't see it, did you?" I asked her. "The medium units killed about four people before I was able to stop them. I don't know who all they were, but parents aren't going to want to bring their students to the school anymore. After that happens SNIS will take over completely, and McKinley will put all of her resources into bringing down the rest of the Decepticlones and the Decepticons. She may be Director of SNIS, but she does not tolerate someone messing with her students. I'd get ready to be deployed here soon. We're probably going to be heading back out to search for clues on where the Decepticon leader's base is at."

As soon as I finished, a voice said in the communicator in Nichi's ear, "Nichi; Nichi, are you there?"

"I'm here Director," Nichi responded.

"Is Matt okay?" McKinley asked.

"Yeah, he's fine," Nichi answered.

"The police are here taking statements from everyone in the school. There were four casualties and seventeen injuries. I would stay low until tomorrow, and then head up here. I'll have your orders for you when you get here. I've called in Taylor and Erin as well, they'll be here too. And I know I probably don't need to say this, but the school year's over for DuBray."

"What will happen to all of the students?" Nichi asked.

"We were nearing the end of the year anyway, so the students who were passing their classes will be promoted to the next grade. Congratulations. You and Matt have just graduated middle school."

I grabbed my communicator out of my pocket and put it in my ear, tuning into their frequency, and I said, "Have you sent a search party out for more Decepticlones?"

"Yes," McKinley answered. "They found a small commando unit situated a few blocks away from the school, but they retreated before we could exterminate them. I wouldn't go looking for them now, though. Matt, if I were you I would just go home and get some rest. Because tomorrow you'll be on full assignment."

"Copy," I said as I took my communicator out of my ear.

The next day, Nichi, Taylor, Erin, McKinley and I were all situated in McKinley's office. "Well," McKinley said, "I'm glad I gave you permission to carry that concealed pistol and knife."

"Why didn't you guys respond to the threat sooner?" I asked.

"For the sake of secrecy," McKinley answered. "We couldn't have people knowing we were hiding an agency in the school, parents would freak out. We also had to maintain our covert identity, otherwise the Decepticlones would find us and destroy us."

"But the Decepticlones did find us!" Nichi said heatedly. "They came in and started shooting all of the students so that the SNIS would show itself!"

"They weren't after SNIS," I corrected her. "They were after me. They started killing the other students so that I would show myself." I then stood up and walked up to McKinley's desk, glaring her in the eye. "And if your little plan had involved the slaughter of every single student in this school, then what?"

"We had you to make sure that that didn't happen," she responded with a mocking smile. I backed off at this, knowing I was stumped. "Now then," McKinley said to the room at large, "if we're done with accusations, I'd like to move to your assignment. Threat Interception Team-Juliet will not be joining the force being sent out to hunt down the remaining Decepticlones and their leaders. That task will instead be handled by six other squads from this agency, led by Threat Interception Team-Bravo."

"Dan's team," I commented.

"Correct," McKinley responded with a nod. "Now, we have SNIS branches all over the country as well as the world. Agencies in Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, New York, and Orlando will also be sending out teams to hunt down the Decepticlones. We've received no reports of Decepticlone activity in other parts of the world, it's only been America. To that end, I don't see the need in forcing international agencies to use up their manpower on something that probably isn't there. I told them that they should be on the lookout, but if they didn't want to initiate a full-on search, then that was up to them."

"What will we be doing?" Erin asked.

"You will be stationed here, defending the agency against any impending assault, while you will be set to deploy to anywhere there is significant Decepticlone activity. You have the full force of the Mini-Cons you've collected at your disposal. I'm playing with the idea of sending out a squad to search for the other Mini-Cons that are spread across the planet. The use of Shepherd would make the search easy, but fighting against the Decepticlones would be a different matter altogether. Matt, since you don't have your powers anymore, Nichi and Dan are the strongest agents we have. Before it would have been the four of you that would have been sent back out to search for the remainder of the Mini-Cons, but we can't afford to lose you, and we need people here to defend SNIS headquarters.

"If I do decide to send a team out, I'll let you know when and who it is. For now, I want you to remain near headquarters until I call on you. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Nichi replied.

"Yeah," I answered. Erin and Taylor both nodded.

"Good," McKinley said. "You're dismissed."

The four of us exited McKinley's office, and Nichi, Taylor and Erin were all walking together while I headed straight for the exit. I could tell the three of them were watching me as I went, but I paid them no mind. I made a straight line for the front door of headquarters and walked out of DuBray, heading for Mid Rivers Mall Drive. I walked down the road, ignoring the line of cars that passed me by, looking at me as I went, and I glared out in front of me.

_This is ridiculous,_ I thought to myself. _We defeated the Decepticlones already, we shouldn't still be dealing with them. It's because of my decision that I don't have my powers anymore, and it's because of that that people lost their lives today. I need to find some way to get stronger so that I can protect the people that the Decepticlones come after. _

It wasn't for another two hours that I was home, and I was somewhat happy that my mother wasn't there as I walked towards my bedroom. I opened the door and walked in, but I suddenly stopped at the entrance. I flitted my eyes between two spots, and I said, "I haven't seen you in a while."

Two tiny robots were sitting on my bed, looking up at me. One of them was green and had a six-pack rocket launcher on its arm. The other one had enormous shoulders, arms and legs, and was red in color. Flashbang and Safeguard both stood up in salutation, looking at me with what I had to guess were reassuring expressions.

"I take it McKinley teleported you here?" I asked them with a small grin. Flashbang nodded his head enthusiastically, and I walked over and sat on the bed in between them. After a moment of thought I said, "Yeah, guys, you're right. I do still have some power left."

The next day I walked into SNIS headquarters, and came into McKinley's office. "Can I help you, Special Agent Withau?" she asked me upon my entry.

"Yeah," I answered, "I want to go out and search for more Mini-Cons."

McKinley didn't seem remotely shocked by this request as she studied me, and after a moment she said, "No."

"Why?" I said agitatedly.

"For the exact reason I told you yesterday," she answered. "We need you here, and we can't afford to let you get killed."

"And what happens if I take Shepherd and go anyway?" I asked.

"Then you'll face a force of armed and battle-ready agents who have been tasked with guarding the Mini-Cons from anyone, including people in this agency," she answered.

"So, what, you're just going to sit back and let the Decepticons get them all?"

"Trust me, I hate it as much as you do-."

"I don't think so," I interrupted.

She looked at me pointedly for a second before continuing, "But we need to keep every agent we have in the positions that are most crucial to defending ourselves from the Decepticon and Decepticlone forces. And besides, we already have a powerful force of Mini-Cons at our disposal, so wasting manpower on acquiring more isn't something I'm willing to do."

"Yeah, but see, what you don't understand, is that when the Decepticons get their hands on the several million Mini-Cons spread across the planet, our thirty will not be anywhere near enough to defend against them," I said as I narrowed my eyes in anger.

"The answer is no, Withau," McKinley insisted. "You are to wait in Saint Peters until I order you otherwise, do you understand?"

"No, quite frankly, I don't," I said to her with a raised voice. "I don't see why I can't go out and search for more Mini-Cons. We're going to need them when the Decepticons attack."

"When the time is right, someone will go and collect them, but that someone will not be you," McKinley informed me. With this I turned around and started walking towards the door when, "Okay, wait a minute, Withau." I turned around to look at her, an angry glare on my face, and I saw that McKinley seemed to be thinking about how to word what she was about to say. "I won't tell you you're wrong," she admitted. "We need the Mini-Cons, we need them desperately. But there is something out there that we need even more desperately, and if the Decepticons were to get their hands on them, it would mean the end of SNIS as well as the entire world."

"And they're not Mini-Cons?" I asked her somewhat-skeptically.

"No, they're not Mini-Cons," McKinley assured me. "They're called the Rebirth Crystals."

"What the hell are the Rebirth Crystals?" I asked.

"They're a set of three crystals that, when brought together, can revive the dead."


	130. Chapter 128: Into the Lair

INTO THE LAIR

"Is this a joke?" I asked McKinley.

"No," she answered. "This is far from a joke."

"So you're telling me that there are seriously three random crystals out there that can revive the dead?" I said.

"Don't act so surprised," McKinley advised me. "You've come across plenty of substances in the past that could revive the dead. This is nothing new to you, Withau."

I had to admit she had me there. My old enemy and Sasuke's old teacher Orochimaru was in possession of a jutsu that could revive the dead, and SNIS also had a Mini-Con that could restore the life of whoever it was equipped with once every twenty-four hours. "So where are they?" I asked her.

"I don't know," McKinley answered.

I sighed in frustration as I pinched the bridge of my nose between my eyes.

"I know it's nothing to go on," McKinley admitted, "and I'm sorry I can't give you more. The fact is these Crystals could be anywhere in the world."

"Okay, and is there someone out there who does know where they are?" I asked her.

"I believe so, yes," McKinley answered. Judging by the look in her eye, I could tell that I was not going to like what she was about to tell me. "Rumor has it that Orochimaru knows the location of all three Crystals, and is even in possession of one of them."

"Perfect, because we get along so well that he's bound to let me borrow his Crystal, as well as tell me where the other two are, right?" I said to McKinley.

"As a matter of fact you should be able to get that information out of him without much effort," McKinley said to me.

"So you're _encouraging_ me to go seek out a man who has a strange fascination with young boys, is that what we're getting at?" I asked.

McKinley let out a slight laugh and said, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Withau, you need to get that information out of him, by whatever means necessary. You know as well as I do that he'll do whatever it takes to get his hands on especially powerful shinobi. Word that you've lost your powers will definitely have spread to him, so he'll want more than anything to restore you to your former strength. Matt, if you're looking for a way to get your powers back, this might very well be the way to do it."

My eyes widened at these words, and I considered what McKinley had told me.

"Take your ship," McKinley ordered me, "head to the Village Hidden in the Sound. Orochimaru is the leader of that village, so he should be pretty easy to find once you get there. Convince him to tell you where the Rebirth Crystals are, and if you can, get him to restore your powers. Just don't hang around too long afterwards, otherwise you might not be able to come out of there alive."

"Alright, and what should I tell Nichi?" I asked.

"There will be no need to inform Special Agent Schroeder of your whereabouts. Starting today, you are hereby disbanded from Threat Interception Team-Juliet. You will comprise your own unit whose sole purpose is to seek out the Rebirth Crystals. To this end I'm changing your title from Special Agent to Intelligence Specialist Withau. You are now a separate unit from the Threat Interception Teams. I will inform the agents posted at the armory that you are to be granted full access to our weaponry as well as our Mini-Cons. Take whatever you feel may be necessary for your mission and head out. You won't need to contact me unless you feel it absolutely necessary. Otherwise, stay on radio silence. Do you understand?"

"Got it," I responded, and I turned around and walked towards the exit.

"One more thing," McKinley said quickly. I turned to face her, and she said, "Remember that the Rebirth Crystals are your number one priority. Your powers come second."

"Understood," I replied.

"And also," McKinley said, "Tsunade says she's working on something, something big. She says it's something involving you."

My eyes widened at this, but I didn't reply.

"Be careful out there, Matt," McKinley said conclusively.

"I will," I responded, and I walked out of her office.

An hour later an SNIS ship was flying over the horizon as the sun set, and I piloted the ship as I headed for the Village Hidden in the Sound. I eventually came to the ocean, flying over the endless sea of blue, and after three hours of flying I came upon the Japanese coastline, and eventually ended up at Amami Island. As soon as I was over the island I descended down and flew just above the tree tops, and I made a wide arc around a range of mountains that I knew concealed the Hidden Cloud Village.

The Land of Sound was located three countries away from the Land of Lightning, directly north of the Land of Fire, which concealed the Hidden Leaf Village. As I flew, I eventually felt the presence of evil lingering in the air. And that was when I knew I had arrived in the Land of Sound. For being ruled by such an evil maniac, I had to admit the country itself was beautiful. It consisted mainly of sprawling fields with rice farms etched into the low hills. Several farm houses occupied the open space, and I wondered how many of the citizens here were aware of who actually ruled them.

I eventually descended and set down in a field right next to a tiny road spanning across the prairie. I opened the cockpit of my ship and stepped out, and I then pressed a button on the side of the hull that caused the features of the ship to become blurred before they disappeared completely with the effect of a cloaking device. I then started walking through the Land of Sound, following the tiny road as I passed farm house after farm house on my search for Orochimaru. After about three hours of walking, I came to a stop at the top of a hill.

_Looks like I found the military force of the Sound,_ I thought to myself. A twenty-foot-tall fence enclosed a span of concrete buildings that resembled a military camp, with hundreds of people patrolling the facility. These people each wore dark-gray sweatpants and sweatshirts with light-purple tunics over the top, and they wore masks that were the same two colors in a camouflage style.

"Halt!" I looked around just as a squad of four Hidden Sound shinobi landed on the ground twenty feet away from me, and they each pulled out kunai as they glared at me. "Are you lost, foreigner?" the one in front asked.

"No," I answered.

"Then why have you come to the Village Hidden in the Sound?" he asked.

"My name is Tanzaki Uchiha," I declared to them. "I'm looking for Orochimaru."

All four pairs of eyes widened as they heard this, and the one in front eventually said, "Alright, fine. Come with me, I'll bring you to him."

_That was easy,_ I thought to myself as I followed him. As we started walking I figured we would go into the military camp, but I was wrong. We went in the complete opposite direction of it and came to a halt a hundred feet away at a wooden hatch in the ground. I looked over at the military camp and thought to myself, _This guy's an evil genius. That camp is a decoy so that any invasion force will attack it, and he'll be over here safe and sound. I'm willing to bet there's a set of escape tunnels down here that lead on for miles._

The Sound ninja opened the hatch and allowed me to descend first, but I declined the offer and told him to go instead. He complied, and after he dropped down I looked down into pitch black. After a moment of thought I climbed down onto a ladder and descended into the underground tunnel. The only light in the tunnel was being given off by the sun through the hatch, but the Sound ninja then lit a match and used it for a torch.

"Right this way," he said to me as he walked down the tunnel. As the two of us walked, he stated, "Lord Orochimaru's been expecting you. Whatever it is that you're looking for, he was confident that he was the one you'd come to for help."

"That's more than a little bit disturbing," I informed the shinobi. He didn't respond as we continued walking, and we were both silent the whole rest of the way.

Finally we came to a large opening in the cave, with several corridors spanning off of it. In the very center of the cave stood a set of human-sized glass jars rooted to the ground, with mechanical tubes climbing up to the ceiling. A set of computers stood off to the side, and a young man with glasses and long, white hair in a ponytail stood at the monitors. He looked up when we came in, and when he saw me Kabuto Yakushi took on a smile. I looked around the gigantic room, searching, but I felt him before I saw him, and my eyes widened as my blood ran cold.

"Special Agent Mathew Withau." I looked over to the glass jars and saw a man with paper-white skin and long, sleek, black hair down to his waist walking over, and he was looking at me with a grin. "Quite a rather catchy title, if you ask me," Orochimaru said to me. My throat seemed to have swelled shut, and I was unable to form words, but after a second I managed to acknowledge him by name.

"You seem well," Orochimaru said to me. "I was rather afraid of what the war may have done to you, but you seem to have come out without any psychological deficits. I must say, though, the loss of your powers as a shinobi is quite disappointing. I looked forward to the time where we would meet each other again in the line of combat. You had a uniquely deep wealth of power stored within you. You and Sasuke were quite alike in that manner."

I still wasn't able to respond to him, and the waves of terror running down my spine kept me from moving or doing anything at all.

"My, I was clearly mistaken," Orochimaru said to me. "The shinobi I was acquainted with would never have been so fearful simply by my presence. Was it the war that did this to you? Or has the loss of your powers made you feel defenseless against me? Whatever it is, it's quite pathetic. At least a mouse runs when it sees a snake."

After a moment I said, "What are you doing here?"

Orochimaru then let out a loud laugh, and he said, "Have you forgotten, Boy? You came to me. Are you truly so afraid that you can't remember why you walked so willingly into my lair? You are a sorry sight, Mathew, and quite frankly it makes me sick. Go home, seedling, and come back when the young man with some sense of dignity has returned." Orochimaru then turned around and started walking away, and as I watched him go, my teeth gritted in frustration. I then pulled a blaster pistol out of my belt and aimed it at Orochimaru, and my shinobi escort's eyes widened as I pulled the trigger. Orochimaru moved his head out of the way of the blast as it flew past him, and he looked over his shoulder at me with a grin on his face.

"How dare you!?" the Sound shinobi said as he came at me with a kunai.

"That will be all, Shitsuki," Orochimaru commanded. The Sound ninja named Shitsuki stopped cold and looked over at Orochimaru.

"My Lord?" Shitsuki said nervously.

"You may go," Orochimaru informed him. "Continue your patrol while I have a private conversation with our guest."

Shitsuki took a bow and exited the room, leaving me alone with Orochimaru and Kabuto.

Orochimaru turned around to face me completely, and I was glaring at him with gritted teeth as a bead of sweat rolled down my cheek. "How do you intend to combat me like that?" Orochimaru asked.

I reached to a metal disk on my chest and rotated it counterclockwise, and my entire body became enveloped in a baby-blue, crisscross-patterned aura. The aura disappeared, and I was decked out in a dozen weapons spanning from an assault rifle on my back to a rocket launcher on my wrist.

"How about that?" Orochimaru said. "You have come prepared. That's much better."

"I didn't come here to fight," I said to him.

"Oh, I think I know perfectly well _why_ you came here," Orochimaru informed me. "But first let's get to the mission you were assigned."

My eyes narrowed as he said this, but I didn't say anything.

"You want to know where the Rebirth Crystals are, correct?" he asked me.

It took me a moment to answer, but I finally said, "Yeah. That's right."

"As it so happens, you've come to the right place. I'll assume you are aware that I am in possession of one of the three?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. I will tell you where the other two Crystals are in due time. First, however, I want you to do something for me," Orochimaru informed me.

My eyes widened as I heard this, and I said, "Wait a minute, what did you say?"

"Come, now, you didn't honestly believe you could just waltz in here and expect me to tell you whatever you want to know, did you? We're not allies, Mathew, and I have quite a strong hatred for the Hidden Leaf, you must remember that. As I said, I will tell you where the other two Crystals are, but before that I want you to do something for me," Orochimaru said to me.

After a moment I said, "Fine. What is it?"

"I want you to break all ties with the Hidden Leaf Village, as well as the Supernatural Investigative Service, and swear your eternal allegiance to me."


	131. Chapter 129: Coersion by Bestowal

I have been slacking lately. Sorry about that. I've been busy working on something to come January 6th...

* * *

COERSION BY BESTOWAL

"You're out of your mind if you think that's what's going to happen," I said to Orochimaru.

"Is that so?" Orochimaru said with his grin unchanged.

"I'm not going to join you just to find the Rebirth Crystals. I'll find someone else who can tell me where the other two are, and then I'll come back and take yours." I turned around and started walking towards the exit, and Orochimaru watched me without saying anything. A footstep sounded out from behind me, and I ducked down as Kabuto swung a kunai at me, and I spun around while squatted down and aimed the green rocket launcher on my arm up at him. Kabuto stood frozen in place as he looked into the barrel of the rocket launcher, and I held my hand on the trigger as I waited for him to make a move.

"You got a problem?" I said to him.

"Well, well," Orochimaru said from behind Kabuto. "Your powers may be gone, but your shinobi reflexes are clearly still strong. Your training with SNIS has kept you sharp, I'm glad to see that."

I didn't look at Orochimaru as he spoke, instead keeping my full attention on Kabuto.

"Back off, Kabuto," Orochimaru commanded. "I can't very well have a conversation with him while he is expecting to be attacked. Stand down, and after we have talked we'll decide what happens to him."

"Yes, my Lord," Kabuto responded, and he jumped back and came back to his computers.

"I extend my offer again," Orochimaru said to me. "Join me, and I will tell you the locations of each of the Rebirth Crystals."

"I won't join you," I informed him.

"Hmm," Orochimaru said, and his grin seemed to have widened. "Would you perhaps be convinced if I told you that I could restore you to your former glory?"

My eyes widened at this, and my words failed me once again.

"Yes," Orochimaru said. "I so happen to have the ability to restore all of your former shinobi powers, but I don't feel a need to make you more of a threat to me unless you will agree to be on my side. What do you think? It's quite an offer if you ask me. All you have to do is join me, and I will give you back all of your powers to their fullest extent."

I could do no more than stand there, staring at Orochimaru through wide eyes and with a jaw slightly agape.

[Nichi's point-of-view] "I wish you would have told me what you were going to do," I said. I leaned against McKinley's desk, looking at the wall while she watched me from her chair.

"I know," she responded. "But if I had I doubt you would have let him go quietly, and I didn't want a potential fallout between the two of you on his mind while he was in the middle of his mission."

"Did you have to send him to that psycho?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," McKinley answered.

"Orochimaru is the only person I know of that knows the locations of all three Crystals. If I could have avoided sending Matt up against him without his powers, I would have."

"Why didn't you send me with him?" I asked.

"Because you would have compromised the mission," she answered.

I looked around at her to see that she was looking at me with a very serious expression.

"Matt has far more experience in the field than you, Taylor and Erin put together. You may technically be stronger than him at this point, but Nichi, if you and he were to face each other in battle right now, I have little doubt that he would win."

"And how do you possibly justify that?" I asked her skeptically. "Because Matt, more than anyone in this agency, knows how to scout a battlefield. He knows exactly what decisions to make, and he knows how to keep a level head when things get tough."

"Then why did you make me Lead Special Agent?" I asked.

"Because I never planned on keeping him in TIT-Juliet to begin with," McKinley answered.

"What do you mean?"

"I knew from the moment Matt lost his powers that he would be doing anything he could to keep his mind away from his life as a shinobi. Keeping him in a Threat Interception Team would never have provided him with enough challenges to sway his thoughts from his former life. I knew he would need something huge that would take all of his time and would ultimately take him away from being in your team. This mission does precisely that."

"So you didn't make him Lead Special Agent because you knew he wouldn't be staying with the team?" I asked.

"Exactly," McKinley answered.

"Remember your first mission as a team under SNIS? When I ranked the members of TIT-Juliet and put you in charge instead of him?"

"Yeah, you said it was because Matt didn't use teamwork," I recalled.

"I did," McKinley confirmed, "but that was a lie. Even then I didn't expect him to stay with the team for long. I figured that at some point along the way he would get caught up in something much bigger than the Decepticlones. I knew he couldn't be leading a squad of inexperienced girls if he intended to separate from you. Little did I know he'd quit, run off, then come back and take over anyways, shortly followed by him disappearing to Europe for a week and a half while the three of you hid in a set of woods, but we won't talk about that right now."

"What happens if Matt can't get the locations of the Rebirth Crystals from Orochimaru?" I asked.

"Then he's been ordered to retreat and find their locations elsewhere," she answered. At that moment a rumbling sound caused the entire office to tremble violently, and McKinley's and my eyes widened as we looked around towards the DuBray commons.

I immediately ran out of McKinley's office while she rose to her feet, and I came to the gigantic room that had a massive hole in the wall with smoke spilling out of it. Several agents came out from the hallways spanning off the commons with assault rifles aimed at the hole, and I conjured electricity around both of my fists. As we all waited for something to enter the SNIS headquarters, a small, old, rusty pickup truck rolled into the commons. I looked at it with an anticlimactic feeling, and I let some of the electricity around my fists subside while the agents continued to hold their assault rifles ready.

The pickup truck sat in the middle of the commons for several minutes while we all looked at it, but it then fired a pair of rockets out in separate directions, knocking the agents back. My eyes widened in shock as the pickup transformed into a fifteen-foot-tall robot that let out a mechanical roar as it aimed a cannon on its arm at me. I quickly threw up a wall of electricity as a third rocket rammed into it, blasting the wall apart and sending me rolling back across the ground. I came to a sitting position and rubbed my head, and I looked around to see the robot running straight at me. A blade spawned out of the underside of the robot's wrist as it leaped into the air and came down on top of me.

I fired a current of electricity up at the robot that it blocked with its blade, and it landed right in front of me and swung, just after I managed to dive out of the way. I rolled across the ground and came back to my feet with my fists aimed at the robot, but it pulled a gun out of its belt and aimed it at me, and I ducked out of the way just as it fired a shot that flew down the hall behind me and blasted out the wall at the opposite end. The robot aimed its gun down at me again, but I fired a current of electricity that hit it in the chest and knocked it back, sending it stumbling backwards while I got back to my feet.

The other agents closed in on the robot and started firing volleys of assault rifle blasts at it, which eventually put it on its knees as it attempted to withstand the onslaught. After a few moments during which pieces and parts fell off the robot, the machine let out a mechanical roar before aiming its wrists out and firing a volley of tiny missiles that flew in all directions. The missiles slaughtered all of the agents and spattered their blood all over the commons, leaving me to watch with eyes widened in horror. The robot got back to its feet and looked down at me, and a mechanical growl uttered from its throat.

"What are you?" I asked it timidly.

The robot answered in a steely voice, "I am the Decepticon known as Backbite. I have been sent here to murder every member of SNIS. And you're next on the list."

"Try again," I responded as I built up electricity into my fists.

"You have little grasp over what you face, are you aware of this?" Backbite asked me.

Instead of answering I sent a current of electricity at him, but Backbite blocked it with his blade, and then aimed his gut at me and fired. I brought the current down to intercept the round that he fired, but the shockwave from the impact blasted me up into the air and sent me slamming into the wall of the commons. Backbite then aimed his blaster up at me and said, "And now you die."

An intense explosion blasted Backbite in the back, knocking him forward while I dropped to the ground, and he came to his fours while he looked around for the source of the assault.

"You looking for a fight, Decepticon?" Dan asked from the other side of the commons. "I got it right here."

Backbite rose to his feet and aimed his blaster at Dan, but Dan disappeared long before he could fire a shot, and he rammed his leg into Backbite's shoulder, sending the Decepticon down and crashing into the ground, raising dust while Dan landed on the ground at his head, looking down at him with contempt in his eyes. A high-pitched squealing sound made his eyes widen, and a massive explosion blasted out the wall to his left, and Dan looked through the smoke that blew through. I was squatted down in front of the wall I had landed in, looking towards the blast site as well, and as the smoke cleared, a drop ship was hovering fifty feet away from the SNIS building.

The drop ship then transformed into an assault craft and rushed into the building, flying over and coming to a stop in front of Dan. "Jesus," Dan said under his breath as he looked up at the drop ship. That was when Backbite started getting back to his feet, causing Dan to look over at him. "Nichi!" he called over to me. "Can you take on the Decepticon on your own?"

"Uh, yeah," I answered as I straightened up. I conjured electricity around my fists as Dan and the assault craft shot out of the SNIS building, and Backbite straightened up with his blaster in one hand and blade in the other.

I fired a current of electricity at his head, but Backbite moved his upper body out of the way while he aimed his blaster at me and fired, but I dove out of the way and rolled across the ground. I came back to my feet and fired another wave of electricity at him, but Backbite blocked the wave with his blade, and then aimed his fist at me and fired a volley of tiny missiles from his wrists. I ran out of the way and attempted to dive, but the five missiles homed in on me and blasted the ground around me, raising up smoke and flames as I flew out and rolled across the ground.

I groaned in pain as I massaged my head with both hands, and I looked up to see Backbite stomping towards me, pointing his blaster down at me.

[Dan's point-of-view] The assault craft dropped a bomb out of its belly as it flew overhead, and I ran out of the way as quickly as I could, and when the bomb hit the ground it unleashed a massive explosion that blasted smoke and rubble in all directions. Gigantic boulders that had once been part of the ground were set on the ground, and I was sitting against one of them and looking over my shoulder through the smoke, waiting for the craft to reappear. The rushing sound of a jet engine made me look around as the assault craft flew overhead, and then came around to fly in my direction and fired a volley of laser blasts at me.

I quickly got back to my feet and ran out of the way, and the boulders were all blown apart by the onslaught as the craft flew by, and it veered around through the air and launched two missiles, which came around and shot straight down at me. I ran away from the missiles as they closed in on me, and I disappeared in a burst of speed the moment before they crashed into the ground, letting off a gigantic explosion that threw light across the battlefield. I reappeared in the air in the flight path of the assault craft as it came in, and I pressed a button on a blue weapon that had a metal orb at my wrist, and I held my arm out with my fist pointed at the assault craft.

As I waited for the craft to come into range, I began descending down to the ground, and as soon as the craft flew overhead, I let out an enormous electrical pulse that caused electricity to erupt around the craft, but it continued to fly unimpeded as it came around once again. I dropped down and landed on the ground with a hand sign made, and I aimed both fists forward and said, "_Ninja Art: Black Plasma Shuriken!_" My fists became surrounded in black energy before erupting into a volley of black energy shuriken that spread out and homed in on the assault craft.

The assault craft was bombarded by the _Black Plasma Shuriken_ and blown apart as it veered down to the ground, and its remnants crashed into the ground in a fiery cloud while I stood ten feet in front of it.

[Nichi's point-of-view] Two missiles flew off in opposite directions, and they crashed into separate walls and blasted out craters in the concrete. I flew back and landed on the ground, and I fired a current of electricity from my fists at Backbite, who moved his upper body out of the way as he aimed his blaster at me. I ducked down just as the wall behind me was blasted out, and I planted my hands on the ground at my sides and unleashed a current of electricity that traveled towards Backbite. Backbite backed off from the current, and he aimed both wrists at me and fired a total of ten missiles, but I quickly threw up a wall of electricity that intercepted all of them.

The combined power of the missiles raised an explosion of smoke and flames that blasted twenty feet out, and Backbite watched the smoke with a triumphant look. A burst of electricity fired out from the smoke cloud, and Backbite was caught off guard as he attempted to evade it, but he was hit square in the chest and knocked off his feet. The smoke cleared, and I had electricity pumping through my hands as I concentrated all of my power. I focused the electricity into the palms of my hands, forming two bright, purple balls that were packed with energy.

Backbite started getting back to his feet, and I fired the two balls of electricity at him, which hit him in the torso and blew him to pieces, sending his parts scattering across the SNIS floor. I let my arms fall to my sides as I panted in light exhaustion, and I looked at the spot where Backbite had been blown apart. Footsteps made me look around, and Dan was walking over to me, looking at the same spot that I was.

"Good job," he said to me.

"Thanks," I answered without looking at him.

As soon as the word left my mouth, Director McKinley came in through our communicators, "Dan, Nichi, get in here."

The door to her office opened, and Dan and I walked in to see McKinley looking down with a grim expression at the computer monitor sitting on her desk in front of her.

"What is it?" Dan asked.

"I've just received a transmission," McKinley answered.

Dan and I both walked around to McKinley's shoulders, and we looked down at the monitor. Most of the screen was black, but there was a dark, impending form with red, glowing eyes looking out at us.

"Director of SNIS, Katherine McKinley," a malevolent, mechanical voice echoed out from the computer speakers.

"Yes," McKinley acknowledged. "Who are you?"

"You should already know who I am," the voice answered. "But I shall tell you: I am Megatron, Supreme Leader of the Decepticons."

All of our eyes widened as these words registered, and the Decepticon Leader continued.

"I am making this transmission to relay to the members of SNIS a message."

"Okay, go ahead," McKinley said.

"On behalf of the Decepticlone Army and the Decepticons as a whole, I hereby declare war upon you."

Our eyes widened once again as he said this, but none of us responded.

"I know the location of your headquarters. Prepare your troops and call in reinforcements. My forces will arrive in six months."

And with that, transmission was cut.


	132. Chapter 130: Recall

RECALL

Director McKinley, Dan and I all looked at the monitor where Megatron's face had disappeared, and none of us said a word.

Finally, after a few moments, McKinley said, "Dan, go out and find all of the TITs spread out across the state of Missouri. Tell them to abandon their mission and return to base. We need every agent at headquarters so we can prepare for the Decepticons' arrival. I'll find Matt over radio and tell him to come back as well."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Dan asked.

"What do you mean, Mako?" McKinley asked.

"I mean Megatron said that they wouldn't be coming for another six months. That leaves plenty of time for Matt to find the Rebirth Crystals, and then return to base and help us prepare."

"We don't know that the Decepticons will wait six months to strike," McKinley said imploringly. "They already know where our headquarters are. What's stopping them from waging an all-out assault right now? We need everyone we can possibly get to assist us. I'm recalling Matt from the field, regardless of whether he's found the Rebirth Crystals."

"You know he's gonna be pissed, don't you?" Dan asked.

"I'm well aware of Matt's dedication to a mission, as well as his newfound anger issues. However Intelligence Specialist Withau is also an intelligent person, and I think he will be able to agree that an impending assault by the Decepticon forces is more important than searching for those Crystals. There's also the possibility that he's found the Crystals by now and is already on his way back to headquarters as we speak."

It was clear that Dan didn't like the idea of recalling Matt back to base so soon, but he didn't say anything else.

"You have your mission, Mako," McKinley reminded him. "Go out and find all five of the other TITs assigned to the mission. I'm assuming your own team is nearby?"

"No," Dan answered. "When I got the distress call that headquarters was being attacked I came without them. We were somewhere in central Missouri when I left. I have relative positions of the other five teams, but I'll need to head back out to make sure. They're on complete radio silence, so I won't be able to just contact them via communicator."

"Fine, go," McKinley ordered. "Get them all back here as quickly as possible. By the time you return we may be under full-scale war. If any of the other teams are in the middle of a battle, make sure to take the heat off enough so that you can all retreat safely. I'm going to recall Matt, and afterwards I'm going to contact the other agencies. They should be able to provide us with roughly twenty-five thousand troops. That will hopefully be enough to combat the Decepticons."

Dan nodded, and he ran out of the room.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"I want you to start training," McKinley answered swiftly. "I want you to get as powerful as you possibly can before the Decepticons arrive here. I am currently putting TIT-Juliet's missions on hold effective immediately to give you time. I will have Taylor and Erin spend all of their time at the base learning how to use some of our bigger guns. If they can become proficient in a few different areas, I'm going to send the two of them out to start gathering up some more Mini-Cons. Matt took six of our Mini-Cons when he left to seek out Orochimaru, so our ability to fight Megatron is stunted. Beyond that we have no idea how many more Mini-Cons Megatron's forces could have collected to prepare for the upcoming invasion.

"We all need to get as strong as we possibly can before they arrive, otherwise they'll wipe us off the face of the planet. As soon as Matt gets back I'm going to have the two of you train together. He still doesn't have his powers, but his body is built up to the point that he should make for a good battle partner for you. If he can do no more than get a fraction of his former speed back, that will be an enormous help in defeating the Decepticons. I want you to head into the woods behind the school and start working on your powers. You and Dan will be leading our forces in the battle. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," I answered. I left her office, and I immediately headed out the back entrance of headquarters and went straight into the woods.

_[Third-person point-of-view]_ The roar of an engine sounded through the air as an SNIS ship flew through the air, with Dan piloting the craft. Taylor and Erin entered the SNIS headquarters, and they found a tall, bulky man waiting for them, wearing the standard SNIS black sweatshirt and pants with black ball cap. "I am Training Special Agent David Parker. I am tasked with training the two of you in heavy weaponry. I don't expect either of you to like me or respect me. All I need from you is your cooperation for the next six months, or until the Decepticons show up, whichever comes first."

"Okay," Erin said with a confused expression. "What the hell is going on?"

Parker looked at her with an analytical expression, as if he were wondering if she were joking. After a moment he sighed exasperatedly and said under his breath, "McKinley never was good at giving SitReps. Alright, here's how it is, girls. Remember the Decepticlone Army?"

"You mean that group of killer robots that we just fought off not ten minutes ago?" Erin asked.

"Wait…what?" Parker asked.

"Oh, my God," Taylor said as she hit her face with the palm of her hand.

"A small troop of Decepticlone soldiers came into Saint Peters and went on a massacre. If we had not have been there, many people would be dead right now," Erin said slowly in clearly.

"In other words, yes, we remember them," Taylor said angrily.

"Okay, uh…good," Parker said as he looked between them. "Well, their leader just contacted us, and he said that he had declared war on us."

"What!?" Erin said as her and Taylor's eyes widened in shock.

"It's true," Parker confirmed. "He told us that the Decepticlones would be here in six months, so Director McKinley ordered everyone at the base to start preparing for them. That includes you."

"Okay, so what are we waiting for?" Erin asked with a hint of anger.

"That's what I was trying to tell you before," Parker said to them. "I was tasked with training the two of you in how to use our heavy weaponry. That includes assault rifles, grenades, bombs, and rockets and missiles. By the time I'm done with you you'll both be able to dispatch entire battalions of Decepticlones by yourselves."

"Screw that, we need to go find the Mini-Cons!" Erin said angrily.

"Director McKinley has said that if the two of you are able to become proficient in the heavy weapons training, you will be able to take Shepherd and go search for the other Mini-Cons," Parker informed them.

"Alright, well, let's get started," Taylor said.

Meanwhile Dan, still on his search for the TITs that had been sent out, had very little idea where they had gone, and therefore had to search the entire state of Missouri bit at a time to find them. Knowing where he had left his own team, it took him little time to find them and tell them what was happening. Special Agents Terrones, Dorval, and Ryland immediately started heading back to headquarters upon hearing of the impending invasion.

Dan then flew off to find the other five teams. He had attempted several times to contact them over radio, but they all were in radio silence and unable to be contacted. Having no other choice, Dan searched for them by air. As he flew to find Threat Interception Team-India, a machine in Dan's ship started beeping. Dan looked down at the radar set into his dashboard to see three yellow lines slowly coming closer and closer to the center of the screen. Dan immediately pulled his steering wheel out, and his ship veered around through the air as three missiles flew after him, and two assault crafts flew through the air.

Dan came around and locked his reticule onto one of them, and he fired an onslaught of laser bullets, but the craft's shield protected it. _Of course,_ Dan thought to himself. He pulled around just as the crafts fired another set of missiles, and the crafts then converted into jets and shot after Dan. Dan's radar turned into a rear-view camera that eyed the two jets as they closed in on him, and Dan pressed a button on the dashboard. A compartment at the rear of his ship opened up and fired off two missiles at the jets, but the jets flew out of the way, moving far too quickly for the missiles to catch.

When the jets were clear, they came back around and locked onto Dan's ship, and they each fired a barrage of machine gun bullets. Dan's ship moved as quickly as he could make it, but several of the machine gun bullets hit his rear, damaging his thrusters and causing him to falter in the air. _This is about to end very badly,_ Dan thought to himself as started typing on the keyboard attached to his radar. Dan's ship veered upward and shot straight up into the air, but the jets followed him, quickly closing in on his position.

The jets locked onto Dan's ship in their reticule, and they both fired a pair of missiles up at him. Dan looked at his rear-view camera to see the missiles coming, and he flew perpendicular to them, causing them to follow him through the air. Dan veered downward and shot straight at the ground, with the jets close in tow as they fired another round of missiles at him. Dan evaded the missiles and let them fly down past him, and he came three feet off the ground before pulling up, and he now flew parallel with the earth.

The jets redirected their course so that their weapons aimed at him, and the jets both fired a barrage of machine gun bullets that tore apart much of Dan's ship, leaving it barely able to fly. The ship's speed stunted dramatically, and Dan started furiously typing on the computer as he pressed various buttons on the ship. The jets locked onto his steadily-descending ship one last time, and they each fired a missile at him. Dan looked over his shoulder to see the missiles coming, and he took off his seatbelt and pressed a button on the side of his seat. His cockpit opened up, and he ejected into the air just before the missiles blew his ship to pieces, and he flew into the air with the jets now locking onto him.

A yellow pack on Dan's back spawned a pair of white wings that Dan used to fly out of the way of the jets as they flew past. With the help of the Mini-Con Slipstream he glided down into a patch of trees where he was concealed from view. Both of the jets came around and made a course for the tree patch, and Dan ran away from them while he disappeared, just before the jets fired a barrage of missiles, completely decimating the tree patch in a cloud of smoke and flames. The jets flew overhead, and Dan reappeared behind a large boulder, looking out past it to watch the jets.

Both of the aircraft retreated, and Dan came back in and dropped to a sitting position. _This just got a whole lot harder,_ he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Taylor and Erin both came to a stop in an open farmland right outside of Saint Peters. It was the same farmland that Threat Interception Team-Juliet had spent time in during their first mission against the Decepticlones. Training Special Agent Parker stood twenty feet in front of him with his arms folded, looking at them from behind his sunglasses.

"Okay, so what happens now?" Erin asked.

"We begin your training," Parker answered. He passed his foot over a button on the ground and pressed down on it, and a gigantic crevasse opened up in the earth next to them. Taylor's and Erin's eyes were wide with shock, and as Parker watched them with a grin, he said, "We should probably get out of the way." The three of them ran just before the ground opened up to reveal a giant metal platform, and walls rose up around it that were stocked with all manner of heavy weaponry, ranging from bazookas and rocket launchers to large axes and broadswords. Taylor and Erin watched this with impressed expressions.

"After your team cleared out the Decepticlones in this area, Director McKinley decided to make this the Heavy Weapons Training Ground," Parker informed them.

Plumes of smoke rose from the woods out behind SNIS headquarters, and Nichi walked out towards the building, covered in dirt and bruises. She entered SNIS and came into McKinley's office, only to find the Director seemingly distressed.

"What's going on?" Nichi asked.

"I can't find Matt," McKinley reported. "He's gone off grid. He's disappeared."


	133. Chapter 131: Missing

Monday is the third anniversary of the series, and therefore when the third and final special will be released.

* * *

MISSING

_[Nichi's point-of-view]_ "Didn't you order him to be on radio silence while he was on his mission?" I asked. "It shouldn't be that unusual that you can't get ahold of him, right? Do you want me to go look for him?"

"No," McKinley answered swiftly. "And you're right, I did order him to commence radio silence, but all Intelligence Specialists carry a secondary communicator used only for emergencies. Even when it's on it can't be detected, and it can't be put on radio silence. No matter what has happened to its holder, as long as the communicator hasn't been lost or destroyed, I should be able to get ahold of Matt. But he's not answering, and the GPS equipped into the communicator isn't responding. Matt's gone completely off the grid, and I can't find him anywhere."

My eyes suddenly widened at this, and I said, "Do you think Orochimaru has something to do with this?"

"I don't know who else it could have been," McKinley answered. "I think it's pretty clear that he's located Orochimaru, but I would have to say that Orochimaru has somehow figured out a way to shield him from our frequencies. I have no idea what he may have said to Matt, but we have no way of knowing what's happened to him."

"So what you're saying is, he could be dead right now?" I asked her.

McKinley looked at me with a grim expression, and she said, "At this point, anything's possible Schroeder."

"Okay, so should I go look for him?" I asked again.

"No," McKinley repeated. "I'll have Investigation Team-Alpha search for him. As you know, Alpha designates the best in whatever field the term is assigned, and this team is no different. They have a perfect record of solving every case they've ever been assigned, which makes me confident in saying they'll locate Matt's whereabouts. You don't need to worry, Nichi, I'm sure he'll be fine."

I remembered the time when McKinley had explained to me the way that SNIS was set up. There were seven types of units at SNIS. These were Threat Interception Teams, Investigation Teams, Crime Investigation Squads, Offensive Battle Units, Defensive Battle Units, Guard Post Teams, and Intelligence Specialists. The Threat Interception Teams were the most standard and well-known of SNIS units. Members of a TIT tracked down supernatural threats and eliminated them. Each team comprised of four people. Investigation Teams each had three people, and they were assigned the task of investigating anything suspicious that came their way. They were usually accompanied by a Threat Interception Team.

Crime Investigation Squads were teams of five people who were deployed to investigate supernatural crimes that occurred. In essence, they were the CSIs of the supernatural world. Offensive Battle Units were battalions of forty-five people who were equipped with powerful offensive weaponry. They were deployed when SNIS faced heavy opposition. Their task was to overwhelm any opponent and eliminate them with enormous levels of force and firepower. Defensive Battle Units had forty people, and they were assigned to provide heavy defense for a crucial target. If a Defensive Battle Unit was deployed, something very critical to human survival was at risk of falling in the wrong hands.

Guard Post Teams were units of six people that were confined to headquarters, defending critical parts of the base such as armories and power supply. Places like vehicle deployment and weapons creation labs usually had three or four GPTs assigned to them at any given time. And then there were the Intelligence Specialists. These were singular units that each had one person. Intelligence Specialists performed the black-ops work of SNIS. Whenever an Intelligence Specialist was deployed, the target was highly sensitive, and usually very powerful. The Intelligence Specialists were the best of the best at SNIS, and they were skilled enough to lead any of the other Units.

There were twenty-six of each different unit, and each was named with their specific unit, with Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, all the way down the alphabet tagged to the end. This held true for all but the Intelligence Specialists, of which there were several dozen operating out of headquarters.

"Why don't you want me going, Madame Director?" I asked.

"Because I have another assignment for you, Lead Special Agent Schroeder," McKinley announced.

"What is it?" I asked.

"New intelligence has come in regarding the Rebirth Crystals," McKinley informed me.

This made my eyes widen, and I waited for her to tell me more.

"As I expected, Orochimaru is indeed in possession of one of the Rebirth Crystals, but I have the locations of the other two as well."

My jaw fell slightly ajar at this, and I said, "How on earth did you find out?"

"Matt wasn't the only Intelligence Specialist I had looking for the Rebirth Crystals," she said to me with a sly smile. "Two other Intelligence Specialists have reported in on the exact locations of the Crystals, but they're too heavily occupied by Decepticlones for them to get in undetected. That's why I'm sending you to both locations to thin out the Decepticlone forces and grab the Crystal, and then retreat before the Decepticlones kill you. If you can do that with both Crystals, then we're two steps away from possessing all three Crystals. With those out of the Decepticon hands, we won't have to worry about old enemies from the dead coming back to haunt us.

"With any luck, Matt will have gotten his hands on the third Crystal, and then they'll be in our hands for good. By that time we'll also have all of our forces back at base and we'll be at full power to fight the Decepticons." The way she said it made me hope that the next few days played out exactly like she predicted, but I knew that I would have to plan for the worst-case scenarios each time. I was deep in thought about what would happen, when McKinley broke my trance by saying, "Special Agent Schroeder…you have a job to do…remember?"

"Oh, right!" I said, and I turned around and ran straight for her door.

An SNIS ship flew through the air, and the cockpit was occupied by myself as well as the pilot, Special Agent Blake Smith. "How long until we reach target?" I asked him.

"ETA of ten minutes," he answered. We were currently flying over Nebraska, and heading for an area right outside Omaha. After another five minutes we started descending onto a forested area that had a large rock formation jutting out of the top.

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Yeah," Smith answered. "I'm receiving a transmission from the Intelligence Specialist down there to land in the forest."

"Land in the forest?!" I repeated, flabbergasted. "How are we going to do that?"

"By not hitting trees," he answered.

I could barely watch as Smith found a small opening in the trees, and he dropped down into it and landed on the grass-covered earth. The cockpit opened up, and the two of us stepped out to see someone walking over to us. I looked at him as he came up, a boy of about fifteen, with short, spiky, brown hair. He wore a dark-blue jacket with a red shirt underneath, along with jeans.

"I'm Intelligence Specialist Chris Mason," he introduced in a deep, serious tone.

"Special Agent Nichi Schroeder," I introduced.

"Special Agent Blake Smith."

I looked behind him to the massive rock formation, and saw that there was a large opening that dipped down into darkness. "The Rebirth Crystal is in that cave," Chris reported. "I tried to go in and get it myself, but the entire cave is infested with Decepticlones. I couldn't even get close."

"I guess that's why I'm here," I said to him as I took a step past him towards the cave.

"McKinley says Withau is close to the final Crystal, is that right?" Chris asked me.

"That's what she told me," I confirmed.

"Fine," Chris responded. "We'll leave that to him, and then we'll get this Crystal."

"Do you know what kind of opposition we're facing?" Smith asked.

"No," Chris admitted. "I've done some recon in the cave, but the Decepticlones have always spotted me before I was able to get to the Crystal. From what I can tell there are about five hundred Clones in there that we're going to need to get through."

"Five hundred?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah," Chris answered. "Apparently they can deploy an army of troops, but they can't send in a Decepticon to grab the thing. What's going to happen is that the two of you are going to engage the Decepticlones head-on. While they're distracted in the firefight, I'm going to sneak through their defenses and try to get to the Crystal. I'll try to take out as many of them as I can along the way, but I'm not going to risk my own ass to jeopardize the mission. Do you think you can handle that kind of resistance?" he asked me.

"Yes," I answered honestly.

"Perfect. Once we get over there, don't just walk in the entrance. Their cavalry will take you out in a heartbeat. Go over towards the side and blow a hole in the wall. That'll take them by surprise, and they'll be stunted in their response. This will give you an advantage over them. Take out as many of them as you can before they realize what's happening, and then get behind cover."

"How are you going to get in?" I asked.

"I've got my own entrance," he answered with a sly smile.

Five minutes later found Smith and me standing at the side of the cave. "You ready?" I asked him.

"Go ahead," he responded. I held out my hands and built up electricity into them, and Blake reached up to a metallic disk placed on his chest. He rotated the disk clockwise, and his holographic appearance disappeared to reveal various weapons situated across his body. I threw my arms forward and let off a powerful current of electricity that hit the cave wall and blew a ten-foot-wide hole into it. A cloud of dust billowed out from the impact point, and the two of us jumped up and landed in the makeshift entrance.

The corridor we found ourselves in was occupied by a troop of six light units headed by one medium unit. I immediately charged up more electricity into my hands and let out a wave of it, and the medium unit dove out of the way while five of the light units were destroyed. The final light unit aimed its blaster at me, but Blake pulled out a pistol and fired a blast right at the light unit's head, blowing it clean off. The medium unit started getting back to its feet, but I bent down and placed my palm on the ground, firing off a circuit of electricity that traveled across the earth.

The circuit hit the medium unit and blasted it with electricity, short-circuiting its systems and causing it to shut offline. I straightened up just as Blake ran past me, and I followed him deeper into the cave. We turned a corner to find two guerillas looking at us, and Blake and I both took up battle-ready positions. One of the guerillas leaped at me, but I blasted it out of the air with a circuit of electricity, and Blake pulled out an assault rifle and fired a volley of blasts at the second. Several of the blasts flew past the guerilla and caught the attention of four medium units that were patrolling. Three of the medium units ran forward aiming their blasters while the fourth ran over to the cave wall and pressed a button.

A red light flashed through the cave as an alarm blared, and Blake and I both looked around. On the opposite side of the cave dozens of Decepticlones were running in the same direction, and while they were distracted, Chris dropped down and landed on the ground. He looked up to make sure that the room was clear, and he straightened up.


	134. The Pillar of Memories

Disclaimer: The historical references and inspiration in this story are not historically accurate, nor are they meant to be.

This was posted quite a bit later than I wanted it to be, but I didn't rush the last twenty thousand words or so to finish it like I did last time, so it should be of much higher quality. And just so you know, there's a little jump back in time with this; it takes place a month before the start of Season Six.

* * *

THE PILLAR OF MEMORIES

I remember Kakashi telling me a story. It was about this guy named Akuma, who had lived some five hundred years ago, during the days of Sengoku Japan. No one knew where he had come from or how he had acquired the power he did, but apparently he was one of the most powerful shinobi in history. The way Kakashi told it, the entire shinobi world had to ban together to stop him, otherwise he would have thrown the Earth into complete darkness. Now this was long, long before the Hidden Villages had started popping up, and all of the world's shinobi were separated into their own unique clans.

Existing alongside them were the samurai, inhabiting a separate but neighboring part of Japan to the shinobi. The shinobi and samurai worlds had been in constant war already, but the threat that this man Akuma posed was enough for them to throw that aside to stop him. It took a decade of some of the bloodiest fighting in history against Akuma's army, but finally the members of the Shinobi and Samurai Alliance, led by the legendary samurai Nobunaga Oda, managed to bring Akuma down and save the world.

This is a story that's been told throughout the centuries, and the fear of Akuma returning from the beyond has kept the many shinobi civilizations that have lasted throughout the world ensuring that he remained perished.

Tiny torches lined the wall of a cavern, dimly lighting the rock corridors that traveled almost endlessly. Shadows moved quickly through the corridors, sneaking deeper into the cave as silently as possible. Kakashi had his back against the cave wall as he looked out into an open room, seeing several more corridors branching off in different directions. He held his hand up, fingers pointed directly up at the ceiling, and gestured forward to signal Naruto, Sakura, and Sai to move into the room and kneel down, waiting for their sensei to follow.

I moved along the cave wall opposite Kakashi, a blaster pistol held at the ready, and I looked out into the room that the three of them were in. It had been five months since the Decepticlone Army had attacked the Hidden Leaf Village, and since I had lost my powers. I had joined SNIS full time, relying on their advanced weaponry for combat.

"So what's the deal here again?" I whispered to Kakashi.

"Something in this cave is throwing off massive waves of chakra radiation across five different countries, including the Land of Fire. Every shinobi with chakra sensory abilities is going haywire with the interference this cave is giving. Lady Tsunade asked us to search the area for whatever's causing the disturbance."

"Okay…so why am I here?" I asked.

Kakashi looked back and forth between the various pathways before saying, "Because Lady Tsunade, along with several superiors of the Leaf Village, feel that this is a good way for you to get your powers back."

My eyes widened as my jaw fell slightly ajar, and I said, "Are you serious?"

"There are no guarantees, Matt, but with the levels of chakra we're picking up, it's as good a bet as any."

Fierce determination raged through my body like a wildfire, and I immediately stepped into the room, looking down each of the pathways for the source of the chakra.

Kakashi stepped in after me, surveying the pathways as well. Sakura turned around to look at him and said, "It feels like the chakra is coming from that direction." She pointed to the path leading off to her left, and Kakashi nodded in agreement.

All shinobi have the innate ability to track general locations of chakra sources, but there were some that had the ability to directly sense chakra, its level, its precise location, and even its signature to identify different shinobi. After having lost my shinobi powers completely, I couldn't sense the smallest hint of chakra when it was right next to me. And I hoped that that would soon change. The five of us moved off down the corridor Sakura had indicated, and as we moved through the dark cave, a slight pulsation seemed to be reverberating off the ground under us.

My eyes narrowed as we kept moving, and as we got closer and closer to whatever it was, the pulsations gradually got stronger. All five of us continued onward towards the source of the chakra, and even I could tell that something tremendously powerful was ahead. We eventually started to see a white glow coming out of the end of the tunnel, and we all raced for it, each of us with our guards up. We came to an open room in the cave that was bathed in white, glowing light, and we all looked around at the expansive cavern that was a hundred feet wide, and rose up into darkness. Towards the back of the room was a colossal pillar of rock that was emitting a strange light glow, and the pulsations, now massive when felt from here, were clearly coming from this structure.

All five of us looked up in awe at the pillar as it shone its light on us, and we were all speechless with shock. After a moment I took a step forward, and I tentatively walked towards it, taking every step as cautiously as possible. "Matt," Kakashi said to me. I didn't listen to him as I inched closer to the pillar. I don't know what it was, but something was resonating within me from that pillar. It was as if a voice was telling me to come to the pillar. All other thoughts ceased in my head as I moved closer, and I came in front of the others and continued moving closer and closer.

I was still twenty feet out when I raised my arm, reaching out towards the pillar, and the power that it held. The instant my muscles became fully stretched a wave of white energy shot out from the pillar and hit me directly, enveloping my body and making me scream in pain. "Aaaargh! Aargh, Aagh!" It felt like my entire body was being ripped apart, and Kakashi and Naruto both ran over and grabbed me from opposite sides, trying to pull me from the energy. Both of them became enveloped as well, and we were all paralyzed in pain.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled as she ran forward.

"No!" Kakashi yelled. "Stay back! Don't get caught in this too!"

"Naruto!" Sai said desperately.

"Gah! I'm fine!" Naruto said as he struggled with the energy current. Eventually a glow of light radiated out from the three of us, getting brighter and brighter until it was blinding to Sakura and Sai, and it lit up the entire room in white. The pain ripping at my body intensified to the point where I thought I was going to die, and then suddenly the pain was replaced by a rushing sensation. It was like I was hurtling through space at the speed of light, and then suddenly there was nothing but black.

I opened my eyes to find that I was lying face-down on rocky ground, and I got to my fours and looked around, my eyes stinging with dry wind as I took in the scene around me. It looked like I had just missed a war. Blood stained weapons and pieces of armor littered the ground around me, going on as far as the eye could see. I looked around and saw Kakashi and Naruto both lying near me, and both of them were groaning as they got up. I got to my feet and started walking as I took in the scene, and I helped Kakashi to his feet as he looked around in shock.

"Are you okay?" I asked Naruto as he walked over to us.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered. "But it looks like we're the only ones." There weren't any corpses strewn amongst the weapons or armor (which all three of us found odd), but there were enough blood stains on the items themselves that we were able to draw our own conclusions.

"Who goes there!?" The three of us turned around to see a squad of five people pointing spears at us and looking at us all with funny looks. And we gave them odd looks right on back. They were all wearing battle armor that looked like they belonged several centuries before ours, and they all had black moustaches and goatees, with hair tied in a bun on the back of their heads.

"Um…" I said, looking at the five of them without words.

"State your names and your purpose in this kingdom!" The one in the center ordered. He had much more elegant armor than the people with him, and the way he stood in front of his men made it clear he was the guy in charge.

"That's a…great question," Naruto said with a dumbfounded expression.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake," he said as he stepped forward. "I'm a jonin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. We're all shinobi from the continent neighboring this one. The five of you…you're samurai, aren't you?"

My eyes narrowed, and I remembered Kakashi telling me that the samurai lived on the continent neighboring the shinobi world. When he told me, I didn't get the impression that they would look as though they came from the ancient days of Japan.

"You are correct, shinobi." We all looked around as a sixth person came down and landed on the ground. He had shaggy, blond hair that fell down to his shoulders, and he wore a white jacket with black trim over a dark-gray vest and sweatpants.

"Lord Ishida!" The commander addressed as he bowed in respect.

"We are the samurai," the newcomer confirmed. "My name is Mitsunari Ishida. I am a commander of the samurai military. Having come to this land, I am obligated to take you to our Lord. Come, and I don't recommend trying to resist." As he said this, he put his hand on the golden hilt of a broadsword that was three feet long and five inches wide. None of the three of us said a word as he turned around, and we all followed him. The other five samurai kept their spears aimed at us as we walked by, and as I passed them I put my hand on the tip of the commander's spear and pushed it down out of the way.

Later on we came to an enormous complex made out of wood that stood on top of a large hill, overlooking the land. Ishida came to the door and held it open for us as we all walked in, and we came to a narrow corridor that was dimly lit by torchlight. We walked through the massive building, through winding corridors that I wasn't able to keep track of, and eventually we came out into a large room. At the back of the room was a man sitting at a desk, and there were three people standing around him. The guy at the desk was the man in charge.

He had a powerful appearance, long, black hair held in a ponytail that dropped down to the small of his back. He wore green, elegant armor that I could tell cost more money than I'd ever see in my life. Sitting at the edge of the desk in front of him was a beautiful sword with a bronze, emerald-encrusted handle, and the shining blade had a ruby embedded in it three inches up from the hilt. He looked up at us from the scroll he was writing in, an old, traditional scroll that he used ink and a brush to write, and as he looked us over, his eyes narrowed. "My name is Nobunaga Oda. I am King of this land."

I heard Kakashi catch his breath as he said this, and I was trying to remember where I had heard his name from. And then I remembered the story Kakashi had told me, about Akuma who had been slain by Nobunaga Oda five hundred years ago. My eyes widened in shock, and I couldn't understand what was going on.

"Lord Oda," Kakashi said as he got down on one knee. "We are honored to make your acquaintance."

I immediately took by his example and bowed, and while Naruto was somewhat slow with the uptake, he managed to get the picture and bowed as well.

Lord Oda nodded in satisfaction, and he said, "Judging by your appearances, you clearly aren't from this land. In fact, I would go so far as to say you aren't even from this time period."

My ears perked up as he said this, and I looked up at Oda. The people standing around him all looked at us as though they agreed with him, but none of them looked very freaked out by it.

"I believe you are right, my Lord," Kakashi confirmed.

"Hmm," Oda said with a pondering expression. "Well we will have to find a way to get you back to where you belong. However I'm afraid we will not be able to focus on that issue now. This kingdom has other forces that threaten its existence. You will be shown to our housing quarters, and I hope you will find them to adequate satisfaction."

"That will be greatly appreciated, your Majesty," Kakashi stated.

Nobunaga Oda called in a squad of five samurai, dressed similarly to the ones we had encountered when we first arrived here, and they took us out of the main camp. We traveled about a quarter of a mile and came to a large residential area that was protected by a large fence. We came in through the gate and found a series of wooden cabins protected by soldiers armed with swords and spears patrolling the area. The barracks were inhabited by women and children, and it was clear that all of the men were in the military.

The squad that Oda had assigned us brought us over to a cabin that was about twenty feet wide and thirty-five feet back, and we all walked in to a simple building that had living and dining merged into one at the entrance. Towards the back there were two bedrooms with three beds each, and each had its own bathroom.

"We hope you will be comfortable here," the commander of the squad said.

"This will do nicely, thank you," Kakashi said in return. The commander bowed, and he and his squad left the room.

"Alright, what the hell is going on here?" I asked as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Yeah! Where are we? How did we get here?" Naruto chimed in.

"I can't be entirely certain, but here's what I've gathered so far," Kakashi began. "That pillar that we found in the cave, the source of all that incredible chakra that we felt, somehow teleported us back in time. If I'm right, we are now five hundred years before our time, back in the days of Sengoku Japan."

"Okay, and how did the pillar manage to do that?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know," Kakashi answered. "I have no idea what that pillar was, or where all of its chakra came from, nor the powers it wields. But that isn't our priority right now. What is most important is figuring out how to get back to our own time. Now, Sengoku Japan was a time of brutal war and conflict, and the only goal of everyone in the world was to conquer more land. Matt, Naruto, if we somehow get inadvertently involved in a war, we need to get out as quickly as possible.

"I've heard of shinobi traveling back in time and messing with things that they shouldn't have messed with. The future gets twisted, nothing is the same, and horrible things happen. We need to make sure that that _isn't_ the case here. Let's just steer clear of the conflicts of this kingdom, and focus our time on how to get back home. Understood?"

"Got it," I answered.

"Roger," Naruto responded.

"Hm…I thought I sensed something peculiar in the air."

We all looked around with eyes widened in shock, and Kakashi finally spotted him in the rafters. He was a man wearing black sweatshirt with a gray, armored vest over it, and black sweatpants that had dark-purple armor at his waist. He had snowy-white, spiky hair that went down to the bottom of his neck. He had lavender eyes that looked at us with malicious amusement, and with ghostly pale skin complimented by the tiny scar on the left side of his mouth, this guy looked like nothing I'd ever seen. He was squatted down to the wooden rafter he was standing on with his hands grasping the side of it, and he surveyed us all like a cat watching a group of mice.

"Who are you supposed to be?" I asked as I prepared for battle. And that was when I gritted my teeth as I remembered I didn't have my powers.

"My name is Keiji Maeda, and I have to say…this is the first time I've witnessed shinobi who have traveled back in time. I must tell you, chakra certainly has changed over the years. What year do you guys live in?" he asked us.

"2009," Naruto answered. Keiji's eyes widened, and he said, "Whoa-hoh-hoa, that's quite a way's away into the future, isn't it? Man I hope you guys are strong, because I gotta tell ya, shinobi in this time period…aren't that powerful. And I should know, I've fought over a thousand of them. Most of them are dead now," he added.

"He's killed…a thousand shinobi?" I asked as I looked up at him in shock. This guy didn't look any older than twenty-five. How did he get around so much?

"Both of you need to leave," Kakashi said just loud enough for Naruto and me to hear. "Keiji Maeda is one of the most powerful samurai in history; he's almost as famous as Lord Nobunaga Oda. I'm the only one of the three of us who has a hope against him. Go find Nobunaga and tell him what's happened. I'll try to hold him off as long as I can."

"We are not leaving you!" Naruto said in determination as he prepared to battle.

"Hm, choice words," Keiji said as he looked at Naruto with a grin. "I think I'll go ahead and kill you first." He then held his hand up with his palm aimed down at us, and a ball of white lightning laced with lavender appeared. "_Art of Lightning: Gale Crash!_" Keiji said calmly. He fired off a tremendous burst of lightning before any of us could react, and the barrack was blown apart in a tremendous explosion that sent smoke and flames into the air. Naruto flew out of the destruction on his own while Kakashi had me in his arms, and we landed on separate buildings as onlookers gasped in horror.

Kakashi let go of me as we all looked around to see where Keiji had gone, when he appeared right behind the two of us with his arms folded. We both spun around, and Kakashi charged while I hung back, helpless to do anything. Kakashi thrust a kunai at him, but Keiji grabbed his wrist and wrenched his arm out of the way, and he then kicked Kakashi in the gut and sent him flying away.

"Kakashi!" I yelled as I braced myself to attack. Keiji stepped forward and swung his fist at me, and while I managed to cross my arms over my face in defense, his strength knocked me back through the air and sending me smashing into the front wall of a building. When the dust from the impact cleared, I sat in the middle of a pile of destroyed timber, and I looked up at Keiji with blood running down the side of my head. _I don't know how I managed to survive that, _I thought to myself, _but I better figure out a way I can beat this guy, otherwise he's gonna kill me in a hurry._

Keiji was looking down at me with a bored grin on his face, when the sound of spiraling chakra made his eyes widen. Naruto landed on the roof of the building Keiji was standing on with _Rasengan_ in his palm, and he stepped in and thrust his jutsu forward. Keiji took a step to the side of Naruto, letting him charge past him, and Keiji swung his foot around and rammed it into Naruto's back, sending him flying down and crashing into the ground. Keiji then turned back to me, and his grin widened as he braced himself, aiming his palm at me and charging up another _Gale Crash_.

I braced myself to start running, but as I held my arms halfway out to my sides in preparation, I felt the familiar sensation of heat licking at my hands—as familiar to me as breathing. I looked down and saw that both of my hands were shrouded in blue chakra, raging like fire. My eyes were wide in shock and incomprehension, but I wasted no time dwelling on it as Keiji fired his attack at me. I instinctively put my hands together and made six hand signs, and as the _Gale Crash_ closed in on me, I built up chakra into my chest.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_"

I exhaled and blew out a massive ball of fire in Keiji's direction, and our techniques collided into each other in midair and unleashed an incredible explosion that sent smoke and flames bursting through the sky. The discharge blasted up rubble from the ground and sent it flying across the barracks, and soldiers and bystanders all covered themselves in protection. A smoke cloud hung in the air, and Keiji stood on his rooftop, looking through the haze at me with a grin on his face. My legs were bent and my hands were balled into fists at my sides, and I looked back up at him as I panted in minor exhaustion, but a small smile was edging its way across my face.

_I don't know how this happened,_ I thought to myself, _but man, it's good to be back._ I bent down and placed my hand on the ground in front of me, and I disappeared in a burst of speed, causing Keiji's eyes to widen in shock as I rammed my fist into the side of his face. My strength sent him toppling off the roof, and as I landed at the spot where he had been, he fell to the ground and looked up at me with hate in his eyes.

As he dropped he aimed his palm up at me, and he said, "_Art of Lightning: Gale Crash!_" He fired off another beam of lightning up at me, but I leaped up into the air to avoid it, and the building I had been standing on was completely demolished, sending clouds of smoke and fire up into the air below me. As the smoke and flames billowed into the air, Keiji shot up out of them, flying straight up at me with his fist raised. "_Art of Lightning: Rising Thunder Flash!_" He swung his fist through the air and fired a wave of lightning at me, twisting and spiraling around itself as it barreled up at me.

I quickly made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" The _Rising Thunder Flash_ collided into my _Air Shield_ and unleashed a massive burst of pure destruction, sending a wave of lightning rising into the sky over me as I struggled to hold my jutsu in place. As the _Rising Thunder Flash_ passed over me it took my _Air Shield_ along with it, leaving me wide open as Keiji came up at me. I saw him coming and made some hand signs, and I said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired off a barrage of tiny fireballs down at Keiji, and he took on an angry glare as they came down at him.

His body then turned into pure electricity, and he shot up past the fireballs and came right in front of me, reforming into himself with his fist raised. He punched me with all his strength, sending me flying down at an angle and smashing into the ground, tearing across fifty feet of building and sending dust rising into the air. As Keiji hovered in the air, three concentrated balls of bluish-white electricity flew up at him, and he turned around to look down at them as they came. Keiji aimed his palm down at them, and he said, "_Art of Lightning: Gale Crash!_" He fired off a wave of lightning that punched straight through the _Thunder Bullets_ as it came down to the ground.

The _Gale Crash_ collided into the ground and sent smoke and flames rising into the air, and as the pressure given that kept Keiji airborne faded, he descended down towards the ground, eyes on the spot where the _Gale_ _Crash_ landed. Kakashi appeared right in front of him with a kunai aimed at his gut, but Keiji managed to swerve to the side to avoid a fatal hit, sustaining a stab wound to his gut. The pain of the wound slowed Keiji's reactions so that Kakashi was left wide open to kick him in the stomach, sending him flying back towards the ground. Kakashi then made a hand sign, and a continuous stream of chakra poured out of the bottoms of his feet to keep him in the air.

Kakashi then reached up to his headband and pulled the left side up, revealing his left eye and the _Sharingan_ that resided in it. As Keiji came down towards the ground, glaring up at Kakashi, he held his arms out to his side and ignited electricity across his hands. "_Art of Lightning: Pegasus Stride!_" Kakashi's eyes narrowed as his _Sharingan_ observed the activation of the technique, and the electricity discharged from Keiji's hands and feet formed a field that kept him in the air.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he viewed this, and he said to himself, "No way." Kakashi braced himself and made three hand signs, and he held his arm straight down and formed a ball of lightning in the palm of his hand. "_Lightning Blade!_" he called out. Kakashi shot straight at Keiji with his signature move in tow, and Keiji's grin somewhat reappeared as he held his arms out.

"_Art of Lightning: Rising Thunder Flash!_" Keiji threw his arms forward and fired off a wave of lightning at Kakashi, but as it came at him the Copy Ninja used bursts of speed to zigzag between the lightning blasts, steadily closing in on Keiji. Kakashi was within twenty feet of Keiji when he brought his _Lightning Blade_ back, and Keiji aimed his palm at him and said, "_Art of Lightning!_"

"_Rasengan!_" Naruto flew up at Keiji from below with his jutsu raised, and Keiji was thrown off by the multi-directional attack and left wide open. _Lightning Blade_ and _Rasengan_ hit him all at once, sending spiraling chakra laced with lightning flying through the air, tearing the air apart with power. As the chaos died down Naruto dropped down and landed on a rooftop, and he looked up as Keiji dropped down, crashing into a square and sending onlookers running. Kakashi remained in the air as the two of them watched the spot where Keiji landed, and in another part of the residence zone, I came down and landed on the roof of a building, panting in pain and exhaustion with blood running down my face.

I looked at the dust cloud where Keiji had landed, and I leaped back into the air. I jumped across buildings until I came to one right next to the dust cloud, and when it cleared, Keiji was on one knee. He had blood all over him from the assault, and he panted in anger and pain as he looked around at the three of us. "I didn't expect the three of you to be so good," Keiji said in suppressed anger. "You might actually be a threat to us after all."

"Who is 'us'" Kakashi asked in a threatening tone.

Keiji then scoffed into a grin, and he said, "That's for you to find out, gentlemen."

"Keiji!" We all looked around as Mitsunari Ishida stood ten feet behind Keiji, glaring at him with the utmost hate in his eyes.

"Tch, Ishida," Keiji addressed indignantly. "You sure took your sweet time getting here."

"Well, with your rampage, it took a while for a messenger to make it to us for reinforcements. If you hadn't been suppressing your chakra, I'd have gotten here before you did."

Keiji then took on a grin and said, "Well, either way, it's been fun. I'll catch you all later." He then faded into electricity and disappeared, leaving Mitsunari to look around at the three of us.

_These three aren't people to mess with,_ he thought to himself as he analyzed us. _I'm definitely gonna talk to Lord Oda about them._ "Are the three of you alright?" he asked us as we all came down to meet him.

"Yeah, we're dandy, but what the hell was that guy's problem?" Naruto asked agitatedly.

"My guess was that his master sensed your arrival unto our land and sent Keiji to see who it was. This was probably a test of your power to report back to the enemy. And I have to say, you three did excellently to suppress him on your own."

"So does this master of his have to do with the forces that threaten your kingdom's existence?" Kakashi asked.

Mitsunari pondered this question for a moment before saying, "Come with me. Lord Oda will explain everything to you."

Nobunaga Oda sat at his desk writing in his scroll, when a knock on his door made him look up. "Enter," he called out. The door opened, and Mitsunari stepped aside to let the three of us enter, while he came in behind us. Nobunaga surveyed all of our battle wounds, and he then sighed as he put his writing brush down. "I feared this. As soon as you arrived here I knew that he would not let you slip by. I should never have let you out of my sight without protection."

"Who wouldn't let us slip by?" I asked. "Who's Keiji working for? Who's threatening your kingdom?"

"An entity named Akuma," Nobunaga said grimly.

Kakashi's eyes widened as his face fell in horror, and he said under his breath, "No."

"This incarnation of evil in human form came from lands unknown and immediately wreaked havoc on our people. Thousands of innocent died, and our entire military force was left in shambles. We have been trying for ten years to bring him down, but to no avail. I'm sorry I put you in this situation. If there is any consolation I can give you, please…"

"Let us help you," I volunteered.

"Matt," Kakashi said warningly.

Nobunaga eyed me, but he didn't respond at first.

Naruto chimed in, saying, "This guy Akuma sent his lackey out of nowhere to try and kill us for no reason. I don't know who he thinks he is, but I'm not letting him get away with this. We'll help you fight him, and then maybe we can find a way to get out of here."

"Thank you for your offer, but I cannot allow you to risk your lives in our battle. If you wish to escape, find a safer area to take refuge, we'll find you once this is all over."

"This Akuma guy has found us once already," I said to him. "He's gonna do it again. And I guarantee he'll bring more manpower when he does. It sounds to me like fighting him by ourselves is suicide, and you haven't been having much luck either, so it only makes sense that we fight him together."

The person standing behind Nobunaga scoffed in the background, and Naruto and I both looked at him.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" I asked as I glared at him.

"You two have no idea what you're dealing with, here. I mean yeah, I get it, you're strong. But Akuma is stronger. He's laid waste to entire armies single-handedly. You have no hope of defeating him. You should just escape while you can, and stay out of the way."

"Easy there, Magoichi," Mitsunari said to him. Magoichi sneered at Mitsunari, but he didn't say another word. "Trust me…these guys are good. They were able to take down Keiji and came out still standing. They may not look it at first sight, but they're strong."

"No, please, talk about us like we're not here," I said to the room at large.

Nobunaga took on a small grin at this, but he quickly suppressed it. "As the King of this Land, it is my duty to say that I would rather you not be involved in our quarrels. But as a warrior, one who cares more about his people than anything, I want you to know that any assistance you can provide will be met with unending gratitude."

"Alright, then it's settled," I said to him with a confident grin.

Nobunaga took on a relieved grin, and while Kakashi looked less than supportive of this decision, he said, "Wherever my students go, I'm going to be right there with them. So yes. We'll be happy to help you."

Magoichi had a skeptical grin on his face, but he didn't say anything.

"Alright, so what happens now?" Naruto asked.

"Prepare yourselves," Nobunaga ordered. "You three will be on the frontline against Akuma's forces. You, along with my men will be the generals in this war against him." He indicated the people around him, who all looked more than ready to challenge Akuma to a battle to the death. "For now, you will remain in the housing quarters of this garrison until we have significant intel on the whereabouts of Akuma and his generals. Rest easy for now. We have many intelligence officers out in the field scouting for information. The call for deployment could come at any time."

"Understood," Kakashi confirmed. The three of us bowed, and we all took our leave.

The housing quarters of the war garrison were of significantly lower stature than the residential zone we had stayed in previously. Kakashi wasn't surprised; he told us that soldiers didn't care about where they slept. They were just glad to get as many hours of sleep as they could. A pair of escorts that Nobunaga assigned to us brought us to a dinky little room with four beds, two on each side of the space, that while they were kept neat and organized, it was clear that little time had taken to make them look high-class. There were small tables by each bed, each with lamps on them that threw off dim light.

Naruto and I both curled our lips at our housing conditions, but Kakashi seemed to pay it no mind as he walked over and claimed a bed. Naruto and I chose ours as well, and as Kakashi took his shoes off, he said, "I noticed you got your powers back."

"Yeah," I confirmed as I took my shoes off as well. "I don't know. I guess that cave managed to do that as well. I don't know how, but I'm not complaining. Keiji would have killed me if I hadn't had them."

Naruto listened to our conversation as he started to relax, and he said, "So do you have any idea how to get us back home, Kakashi-sensei?"

"No," Kakashi answered grimly. "When they say I've copied a thousand jutsu with my _Sharingan_, they're not exaggerating. But I've never seen anything that allows a shinobi to travel through time. When we do get back, I want to have a research team analyze that rock pillar. Hopefully they can get some useful data off of its origin and powers."

"Well while you're focused on that, I'm gonna be worrying about how we're gonna beat Akuma," I said as I examined my weapons. I ran my finger across the blade to check its sharpness, and I then put it back in my pocket and looked down at the palm of my hand. As I looked at my callused hand I flashed back to the Decepticlone attack on the Leaf, when I had lost my powers.

_I rammed Chidori with all my power into the Decepticlone EMP. Giant tendrils of lightning were thrown across the village, while the sound of birds chirping echoed out, magnified a thousand times. Several seconds passed by, during all of which, Nichi kept her eyes trained on me. I pressed my jutsu against the EMP, and as I did so, chakra engulfed my entire body, just before gradually being blown away. _

I closed my hand into a fist, feeling the power flowing through my veins, and I had to fight to suppress a grin. I looked up to see that both Kakashi and Naruto were looking at me, but I didn't say anything. The next few hours were spent discussing the coming battle with Akuma, with talk of how we would get back to our own time. Ideas focused on finding a new jutsu that Kakashi could use to bring us all back.

"But wait, what are the techniques that the samurai use? Is there something there that might be able to bring us back?" I asked.

"Oh, I've been meaning to tell you about that," Kakashi said. "I analyzed Keiji using his powers against us, and there is one thing I can say without any doubt: What he used in his battle against us, and what I assume all samurai use in this time period, are the same as the jutsu that we use in our own time.

"What?" Naruto said, flabbergasted.

"But they're not even remotely similar," I said to him.

"Maybe not in appearance or name, but in physics, chakra usage, and execution, their techniques are one hundred percent identical to ours."

"But they don't even use hand signs. How is that possible?" Naruto argued.

"I don't fully understand it. If I had _Byakugan_ as opposed to _Sharingan _I'd be able to tell you exactly what's going on, but as for now I can only speculate. From what I can tell, the chakra levels of the samurai are exponentially higher than average shinobi, and it doesn't seem like they need to use hand signs to focus it. I don't know, I guess over the centuries, shinobi developed hand signs as a way of focusing their chakra to make their jutsu more effective."

Naruto and I let this sink in, and I was hard-pressed to believe that Keiji's _Gale Crash_ was something that I could be able to perform. I then closed my eyes and focused, and when I opened them my irises were red, and I had a comma-shaped dot in each of them. The dot in my right eye was above the pupil, while the left eye had it below. I used the name Withau, the name of my adoptive parents, but my true lineage was with the Uchiha clan. And therefore, I had _Sharingan_, their kekkei-genkai. I didn't have much experience with it; I had only used it once in battle before I lost it, but I still picked up its operation pretty quickly.

I looked around at the room, viewing everything through a reddish color, and Naruto and Kakashi both watched me silently. I closed my eyes and deactivated the _Sharingan_, and I made a mental note to use it the next time I fought a samurai. We remained in our barracks for the remainder of the night, continuing to discuss the situation before finally going to sleep.

The next morning, Kakashi was up before either of us, and Naruto and I were both sprawled out on our beds, snoring peacefully. I had a trail of drool running down my chin as I breathed in and out like a buzz saw, and that was when the door was thrown open with the sound of an explosion, nearly sending Naruto and I through the roof. Naruto rubbed his head as he sat in his bed, and he groaned sleepily and said, "What time is it?"

"Way too damned early," I said as I lay face-down, butt in the air, with my face buried in my pillow.

A man wearing black sweatshirt and pants stood in the doorway with his arms behind his back, and he said, "Lord Oda has sent for your presence in his war council room immediately."

"Are you serious?" I said as I looked up from the pillow at him with bags under my eyes.

"You have to get an early jump on the day if you're going to fight a war," Kakashi said to me as he stood next to my bed.

"But the day hasn't even started yet," I whined as I looked at the window displaying a pitch-black sky.

"Quit complaining, let's go," Kakashi said somewhat sternly as he waited for us.

"Uuuungh," Naruto groaned as he keeled over and dropped his head into his pillow.

We came into a large, circular room that had a rectangular table extending from one end to the other that was lined with chairs and littered with maps and diagrams. Nobunaga and his generals had already arrived, and they looked up as we entered the room. "Look who finally decided to show up," Magoichi said with a grin.

"Keep it up, funny man," I said as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Magoichi laughed as he shook his head, but Nobunaga called the room to silence.

"This is what we're up against," he said as he set out a map for all of us to view. The map itself showed a large prairie towards the southeast with a mountain range just north of it, a forest lining the entire west side, and what appeared to be a city in the center. The city was labeled Azuchi, and there was an illustration of a large, multi-story castle right in the center. Several landmarks displayed on the map were circled, and arrows were drawn extending from one place to another, and most of them had large X's at the head.

"This is a map of my kingdom," Nobunaga informed us. He pointed to a place just northwest of Azuchi and told us that the war garrison (aka us) was there. "Akuma's forces are headquartered in the forest west of our borders. I've sent squads, platoons, battalions, even entire armies in his direction, but they all were wiped out by his forces."

"What kind of power does he wield?" Kakashi asked.

"He fights with creatures of darkness," Nobunaga answered.

"Uhh, I beg your pardon?" Naruto said with a confused expression.

"Akuma is a fiend of the shadows; he wields the power to conjure beasts made completely of evil energy. They are formidable to battle one at a time, but in groups they can be all but impossible to destroy without a fully armed battle unit. Akuma creates them in hordes, and they wreak havoc on our forces in battle," he explained.

"Do they have any weak spots?" I asked.

"None that I can think of," Nobunaga answered solemnly.

"The best strategy we've been able to come up with is to outnumber them and take them down with as much brute force as possible," Mitsunari explained. "They're like regular soldiers in that if you hit them hard enough, they stay down. The only difference is that they take a hell of a lot more to keep down than you or me."

"Hah, I'm sure you have your troubles with them, Ishida," Magoichi boasted. "I, on the other hand, can take down ten of them at once without breaking a sweat."

"I can't wait to see you try," Naruto said as he glared at him.

Magoichi leered back at Naruto as his eyes narrowed hungrily, but Kakashi stepped in front of Naruto and said, "Okay, enough. We need to know what our battle plans are."

Nobunaga nodded in agreement and said, "These are our attempts at combating Akuma's forces over the past seven months." He referred to the arrows and X's on the map, and having clarified the X's to represent battles, I counted a total of six, all spread across the kingdom.

"How many victories have you had?" Kakashi asked.

"We've only managed one," Nobunaga answered grimly. He pointed to a large lake that lay between Azuchi and the western forest, and had a large X drawn on it. "Akuma attempted to send his army across the water in order to surprise us, but we got the best of him. Mitsunari led our forces into battle across the lake, and we managed to keep the enemy out of our capital city. That was four months ago, and since then we've had three losses, totaling over fifty thousand casualties." Nobunaga's generals all had remorseful looks on their faces—even Magoichi—but they all quickly suppressed them.

"Okay, so what can we do to help?" Naruto asked.

Nobunaga analyzed us, and I had to guess he was trying to figure our best fit into his army. "Hatake," Nobunaga addressed.

"My Lord," Kakashi responded.

"I want you on the frontlines of my forces. You seem a talented shinobi, one that would be capable of leading our soldiers into battle. Would you be willing to do this?"

"It would be an honor, Lord Oda," Kakashi said respectfully as he bowed.

Nobunaga nodded, and then looked at Naruto. Naruto stood there silently as Nobunaga considered him, and after a moment he said, "What are your specialties?"

Naruto was immediately thrown off by this question, and the only thing he could accomplish was, "Uhhh, what do you mean?"

"Oh, Lord," Magoichi said as he put his face into his palm.

"What are your specialties?" Nobunaga repeated. "Where do you excel in battle?"

Naruto still looked stumped to answer this question, but Kakashi then said, "Naruto is an expert at close-range combat. He's quick, and can easily outmaneuver many enemies far beyond his years."

"I can?" Naruto said, looking at Kakashi.

"Very well," Nobunaga said decidedly. "You will be an officer in Magoichi Saika's unit."

"What?" Magoichi said as he looked at Nobunaga in disbelief.

"Uhh…can I be in Kakashi-sensei's unit instead?" Naruto asked.

"No, I'm sorry," Nobunaga said. (Although he didn't look very sorry.) "With the skill sets that Magoichi possesses, you will be a good fit for his troops."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Magoichi said in a whisper that was loud enough for all of us to hear.

"Quit arguing, it's decided," Nobunaga said to both of them. And then he looked at me and asked me what I specialized in.

"Long-range," I answered. "Most of my jutsu revolve around long-range combat, but I can hold my own in a fist fight if I need to," I told him.

"Good, then you will be in Mitsunari Ishida's unit," Nobunaga told me. I wasn't much happier than Naruto about being separated from Kakashi, but I held my tongue. I didn't know a lot about war (unless they involved sporadic invasions by killer robots), but I knew that Nobunaga had to do what was best for keeping his kingdom standing. I had agreed to help him; this was what I signed up for.

Meanwhile, in an area shrouded in darkness, a hooded man raised his head, revealing skin the color of snow, and he uttered, "You know where they are. Kill them."

Back in Nobunaga's war council room, we continued discussing battle strategies with him and his generals. So far we had managed the following; Mitsunari's unit would lead the charge on Akuma's headquarters, with Magoichi's unit following in behind them. Kakashi's unit would move south of the lake and then come back up into the forest, hitting the headquarters from a different direction. Sakon Shima's unit would be doing the opposite, moving north of the lake to come in and attack from the opposite direction of Kakashi. Nobunaga would move in behind Magoichi, bringing in a force of over ten thousand troops to bring the final wave of soldiers in and finish off Akuma's forces.

This battle plan had been drawn up by Sakon Shima, who quickly asserted himself as the strategist of Nobunaga's forces. He was a man in his late forties, with short-trimmed brown hair and wearing a tan trench coat. Underneath he had a white shirt with a black vest over it, and he wore black pants. He felt certain that Akuma would send a battle force out in all directions to combat our units and prevent us from reaching him. Nobunaga felt that a final battle would be necessary to bring down Akuma once and for all anyway, and that somewhere away from the Kingdom's capital would be preferable. It was then that Mitsunari's eyes widened in horror, and he looked around in alarm.

"What is it, Mitsunari?" Sakon asked.

"They're coming," he told us. "Akuma's Shadow Ghouls, there's a small squad of them heading in our direction."

"Well then what are we waiting for?" Naruto asked. "Let's go intercept them and take them out before they reach us."

Nobunaga agreed with this motion, and he sent Kakashi, Naruto and myself, along with Mitsunari and Magoichi to head out towards the Shadow Ghouls. Mitsunari, who had sensory abilities and could track the Shadow Ghouls' chakra, led the way as we all moved across the Kingdom, heading north of the lake between Azuchi and the forest.

"Do you think these are ground or air units?" Magoichi asked as we moved.

"If they were air units they'd be moving across the water to have a better chance of hitting us before we could counteract them," Mitsunari answered. "They might have a flyer or two as sentries, but it seems like most of their force is ground units."

"How many of them can you sense?" Kakashi asked.

"I have a lock on five separate Ghouls, but there might be more," Mitsunari responded. "I'll get a better picture as we get closer to them."

It was another fifteen minutes that we kept moving through the Kingdom, and the five of us prepared for battle as Mitsunari reported that the Shadow Ghouls were half a mile off. I scanned the area in front of us for signs of movement, but it was a few seconds before I could see them. And when I did, I couldn't comprehend what I was seeing. Approaching us were seven creatures made entirely of dark-purple energy that resembled smoke, but they were completely opaque. Four of them were humanoid in shape, two were on four legs and looked almost like wolves, and the last one flew in the air over them, resembling a massive bird.

I made to hit them before they saw us, but the flyer moved first. As soon as we made visual contact he shot straight at us, folding its wings in like a hawk as it closed in, and Naruto and I were both knocked out of the air as it flew past. The bird flew around and came in for a second strike, and we all took up battle positions. Naruto made the hand sign for _Shadow Clone Jutsu_, while I wove the Tiger sign and Kakashi, Mitsunari and Magoichi faced the other six Ghouls. The bird came to a halt in the air and hovered over us, and Naruto looked up with six _Clones_ behind him while I inhaled my breath.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired off a massive fireball up at the bird, but it veered out of the way and let the jutsu fly into the sky, and it then shot straight down at us. Two pairs of Naruto's clones formed _Rasengans_, and they both leaped up at the bird, who rammed them with either wing and tore right through, causing them both to disappear. As the bird descended down on Naruto, I quickly wove more hand signs and inhaled, but the Shadow Ghoul glanced over at me, and then opened its mouth and let off a burst of dark-purple fire. I blew out a second _Fireball Jutsu_ in return, but the Shadow Ghoul's attack blasted straight through mine, coming down and crashing into me, blasting smoke into the air.

I dove out of the smoke and barrel-rolled across the ground, and I came back to my feet and swung my arms around, throwing two shuriken at the Ghoul. The bird whipped its wings around and knocked the shuriken out of the air, and it was then hit in the belly with two _Rasengans_ that had been thrown by Naruto and two clones. The _Rasengans_ had blasted holes in the Ghoul's structure, and it roared in pain as it flapped its wings hastily, trying to ascend into the air, but Naruto formed a _Rasengan_ with a _Shadow Clone_ while I formed a _Chidori._

Naruto's clone threw him into the air while I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and shot up, and we both came at the Shadow Ghoul with our jutsu raised. The bird managed to fly out of my way as I shot up into the air, but Naruto came in and rammed _Rasengan_ straight into the Ghoul's body, knocking it back through the air.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Magoichi, Mitsunari and I all faced the other six Shadow Ghouls, and I pulled out a kunai while Mitsunari wielded his sword, and Magoichi had a knife whose blade was eight inches long.

"Listen to me carefully," Mitsunari said to me. "You need to have your guard up at all times when fighting these things, especially when you're taking on so many of them."

"Hey," I said to him. "This isn't my first time taking on a strong opponent. Trust me. I can handle myself."

At that moment the two four-legged Ghouls shot forward at us, and Magoichi said, "Well let's see ya prove it."

Mitsunari aimed his sword at a Ghoul that was charging him and he said, "_Art of Water: Hurricane Torrent!_" He conjured water off the tip of his sword that burst off in a torrent, which spiraled violently as it approached the Ghoul. The Ghoul leaped out of the way as the _Hurricane Torrent_ crashed into the ground, gouging out a crater into the earth while Magoichi and I prepared to attack. I made a one-handed sign that enveloped the blade of my kunai in electricity, and I shot straight at the group of Ghouls.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Magoichi yelled as he watched. He and Mitsunari immediately came in after me with their weapons raised, and I lunged forward and rammed the tip of my knife into the shoulder joint of a humanoid Ghoul, which didn't even seem to be fazed. The Shadow Ghoul swung its arm around and rammed me in the side, sending me flying away and rolling across the ground. Mitsunari and Magoichi both charged in, and as Mitsunari continued forward, Magoichi came to a halt and rammed the tip of his knife into the ground at his feet. "_Art of Earth: Raising Stones!_" Large rocks rose up out of the ground in a broad line from the tip of Magoichi's knife, and they gradually increased in size as they approached the Shadow Ghouls.

The jutsu split into two lines that went in a circle around the Ghouls, trapping them in a field of rocks that hindered their movements. "Mitsunari! Hit them now!" Magoichi called out. Mitsunari appeared in the air over the Ghouls with his sword held with one hand to his opposite side, and water engulfed the blade as he called out, "_Art of Water: Pressure of the Sea!_" Mitsunari swung his sword around and unleashed a stream of compressed water that came down and crashed into the Ghouls, splashing water across twenty feet.

I was at a kneel with my arm held straight out in front of me, electricity surging from my palm, and I said, "_Lightning Style: Thunder Bullets!_" I fired off four concentrated balls of electricity from my palm at the wave of water rising up from Mitsunari's attack, and the _Thunder Bullets_ electrically charged the water so that the Shadow Ghouls were all violently electrocuted. Mitsunari landed on the ground near Magoichi as the two of them waited with their guards up, and I got back to my feet and wove a Tiger sign as I prepared myself. The electrified water splashed across the ground around the rocks from Magoichi's attack, and none of the Shadow Ghouls were harmed as they faced us.

The beast Ghoul that Mitsunari had attacked at the start landed on the ground and leaped forward, attacking Mitsunari as he held his sword out in defense and knocking him off his feet. Magoichi made to assist him, but two beams of dark-purple fire crashed into him, blasting up smoke and rubble and sending him flying back. Two of the humanoid Ghouls stepped towards him menacingly, and as the beast on top of Mitsunari tore at him with his claws, Mitsunari swung his sword around and collided it into the Ghoul's body, knocking him off while he got to his feet.

Fiery light shone out, making Mitsunari and the Ghouls look around, and a _Fireball Jutsu_ raged towards the Shadow Ghouls, crashing into them and raising smoke and flames into the air. The Shadow Ghouls all shot out of the flames in different directions, each of them attacking us in pairs. Mitsunari was faced with a beast and a humanoid, Magoichi stared down two humanoids, and I had the second beast and the final humanoid. The humanoid I was faced with braced itself, and purple fire concentrated right in front of its face before firing out in an intense beam, prompting me to leap into the air as it crashed into the ground.

The Shadow Ghouls followed me through the air with their gaze, and as I came down on top of them, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Meteor Flame Jutsu!_" I spat out a concentrated ball of fire down at the Shadow Ghouls, but the humanoid swung its arm down and rammed it into the ground, spawning a torrent of purple flames to spring up from where its hand hit. The torrent extinguished the _Meteor Flame Jutsu_ as it shot up at me, and I crossed my arms in defense as the flames crashed into me, driving me into the air before bringing me down and smashing me into the ground.

As the dust raised from impact cleared, I was on one knee while looking at the Shadow Ghouls, and I had my headband up to reveal my _Sharingan._ _Whatever it is that they attack with, it's not like normal fire,_ I said to myself. _It's thicker, denser. It's almost like a solid object. But it can still burn just like flames._ The sleeves of my shirt were torn, revealing burnt flesh as my arms trembled in pain. _Until I can figure out what we're dealing with, long range jutsu is probably my best bet._

The beast charged in, and as it galloped towards me it spat three concentrated balls of purple fire, which I barrel-rolled to evade. I pulled out three kunai and sparked electricity across them, and I threw them straight at the beast. The electricity across the blades stopped the beast dead in its tracks on contact, and I then made some hand signs and said, "_Earth Style: Terra Needles!_" Several loose rocks on the ground shot straight at the Shadow Ghoul, impaling it and causing it to roar in pain. With this distraction, I immediately made three more hand signs and formed the _Lightning Blade_, using to charge the Ghoul head-on.

The Shadow Ghoul saw me coming and spat out three dark-purple fireballs at me, but I leaped over them as they crashed into the ground. As I flew through the air over the Shadow Ghoul, I aimed my _Lightning Blade_ down at it, made a one-handed sign, and said, "_Lightning Style: Thunder Bullets!_" I fired off a round of three _Thunder Bullets_ down at the beast, all of them making direct hits and sending a surge of electricity across the Ghoul's body. I dove straight down at the beast with my _Lightning Blade _raised, and I cleaved it right through the Shadow Ghoul's body, severing it cleanly in half. I landed on the ground behind it while the two halves fell to the ground, and I immediately charged at the other Ghouls fighting Mitsunari and Magoichi.

Mitsunari brought his sword to his side and said, "_Art of Water: Pressure of the Sea!_" He swung his sword around and fired off a stream of concentrated water at a pair of humanoids facing him. The Shadow Ghouls swung their arms down at the ground and conjured torrents of purple fire that went straight through the water and attacked Mitsunari. Mitsunari leaped into the air over the flames and came down with his sword raised, slashing straight through the Shadow Ghoul's body while the other one swung its arm down. Mitsunari barrel-rolled to the side as the Ghoul's arm crashed into the ground, and he leaped back while swinging his sword around, saying, "_Art of Water: Sea Bullets!_" As he swung he fired off a series of tiny water balls that traveled at the speed of bullets, piercing right through the second Shadow Ghoul's hide and leaving it paralyzed as well.

As the two Ghouls stood in place, their wounds started to heal themselves, but Mitsunari immediately shot in with his sword trailing at his side. The Ghouls' wounds were seconds away from being fully healed, but Mitsunari closed the gap with his sword ready to swing, and as water built up around the blade, he said, "_Art of Water: The Sea's Rage!_" He swung his sword down and unleashed a massive wave of water that rose up fifty feet into the air, and then came crashing down on the battlefield as a tidal wave. The two Shadow Ghouls were washed away by the current, and Mitsunari raised his sword to prepare to strike again.

Magoichi charged forward with his dagger raised, and he tore straight through the hides of three Shadow Ghouls, who were all too slow to respond. Magoichi skidded to a halt as he spun around, and he stuck his dagger into the ground and said, "_Art of Earth: Pounding Stones!_" Two large stones rose up out of the ground and shot at the Ghouls, rooted to the earth like tentacles, and one tentacle rammed into one while the second took out two, driving them back and smashing them into the ground. The two rock tentacles then came back around and hovered in the air near Magoichi while he straightened up and aimed the tip of his dagger at the Ghouls.

The Shadow Ghouls got back to their feet as their wounds healed, and the two humanoids charged up fire at their faces and unleashed intense beams. Magoichi ducked one and blocked the other with his knife, and he stretched his arm out towards the Ghouls and sent the stone tentacles flying at them. The beast dodged the attack as the humanoids were smashed into the ground again, and Magoichi placed his palm on the ground and said, "_Art of Earth: Raising Stones!_" Rocks raised up out of the ground in a broad line towards the beast, and three large rocks rose up under it, driving the beast into the air.

Magoichi shot straight at the beast and swung his knife across its side, tearing a large incision into its hide as he flew past. Magoichi came down and skidded across the ground, and his _Pounding Stones_ followed him before veering around and flying at the beast. The rock tentacles came in front either side and smashed the beast, crushing it completely as the tentacles shattered, sending rocks cascading out. The humanoid beasts were just now getting to their feet, their wounds recovering, and Magoichi stood to face them with his knife at his side.

[Matt's point-of-view] "_Giant Rasengan!_" Naruto rammed his jutsu into the top of the flyer, tearing it to pieces as he came down, his clone disappearing while he landed on the ground and looked back up. I sat on the ground twenty feet away, wiping blood from my lip while a trail of it ran down from my forehead. I got back to my feet while loud bangs and sounds of battle echoed out around us, and Naruto and I looked around to see Kakashi, Mitsunari and Magoichi fighting with the other Shadow Ghouls. Naruto charged in while I made some hand signs, and I fired off a _Fireball Jutsu_ at the ones that Mitsunari had washed away.

One Ghoul that was on one knee was hit directly in the back with my _Fireball Jutsu_, knocking it off its feet while Mitsunari looked at me. Naruto shot forward as he made a hand sign, and he conjured ten _Shadow Clones_ as he ran at two humanoid Shadow Ghouls. Magoichi made to join in, but he then hesitated and hung back. Naruto's clones closed in, and one of the Shadow Ghouls swung its arms down, destroying a clone while two more punched it in the chin, sending it stumbling back. A third clone came in from the air and landed his foot in the Ghoul's chin, knocking it to the ground while the second Ghoul tussled with more _Shadow Clones._

The Shadow Ghoul then bent its legs and crossed its arms, and as Naruto's clones pounded on it, the Ghoul let loose dozens of tendrils from all parts of his body, perforating the clones and causing them to disappear. "_Rasengan!_" Naruto closed in with his jutsu raised, and the _Shadow Clone_ that helped him make it hung back with a kunai raised. Naruto jumped forward and rammed his jutsu into the Ghoul's face, knocking it off its feet and sending it tumbling across the ground.

"Get back, kid!" Magoichi said as he came in with his knife raised. He brought his knife down with all his strength and rammed the tip into the Shadow Ghoul's face, causing it to flail its limbs wildly while what appeared to be purple smoke spilled out of the wound. Magoichi wrenched his knife out of the Shadow Ghoul, and he then shot over to the other Ghoul and decapitated it, sending its body crashing to the ground. "_Art of Earth: Pounding Stones!_" Another rock tentacle came up out of the ground behind Magoichi, flew over his head and then came straight down, smashing into the Shadow Ghoul's head and destroying it completely. The Shadow Ghoul's body then dispersed, and Magoichi and Naruto looked around to see that the other humanoid had done the same thing.

"So if you destroy the head, the body goes with it, huh?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," Magoichi answered. "It's a theory I've been wanting to test for a while now, but didn't have a chance until today.

"Hey! Naruto!" The two of them looked around to see me running as the flyer pursued me from the air, firing balls of dark-purple fire down at me.

"Whoops, guess we didn't hit that one in the right spot," Naruto said as he rushed over. Magoichi held his knife at his side as he watched, and he looked over to see Mitsunari fresh from having cut the other two humanoids to pieces.

As their body parts cascaded across the ground, they quickly started putting themselves back together, and Magoichi called out, "Hit 'em in the head." Mitsunari looked down at both of their heads as they crawled over to their bodies, and he swung his sword down, cutting one head in half, and he picked his sword back up and did the same to the second. The minute he did this both Shadow Ghoul bodies disappeared, leaving the flyer and the beast that Kakashi had fought initially, who healed itself and had just ambushed him.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] I backed up with a kunai raised, a blood staining my arm, and the beast Ghoul stalked towards me as it growled menacingly. I made some hand signs and fired off a _Fireball Jutsu_ at it, but the Ghoul jumped to the side, letting the jutsu rage past as it prepared to attack. The Shadow Ghoul leaped forward and tore into my body with its claws, but after a second I disappeared in a puff of smoke, letting the beast drop to the ground. I came down over the Shadow Ghoul with a lightning-imbued kunai raised, and I tore straight through the beast's neck, severing its head completely and causing its body to disappear.

"_Rasengan!_" Naruto rammed his jutsu square into the face of the flyer, causing its entire body to disappear, and he dropped down to the ground and looked around. All of the Shadow Ghouls were gone, and we were mostly uninjured. Naruto looked at Matt and grinned, who quickly returned the gesture as he wiped blood from his chin.

"Alright, you guys had a fairly respectable showing," Mitsunari said as he looked at the three of us.

Magoichi huffed as he looked around at us with a bored expression, and he said, "They did okay. They need some work though.

"Alright, let's go get Akuma," Naruto said to the group at large.

"What?" Magoichi said as if he had heard wrong.

"Come on! We know where his base is! Let's just go there and take him down!"

"Naruto," I said to him.

"Are you really that stupid?" Magoichi asked angrily.

"I have to admit, it's a decent plan," Matt chimed in. "He wouldn't expect us to retaliate so quickly after he sent that taskforce after us. Now would be a good chance to sneak up on him and hit him hard."

"I get what you're saying, but it won't work," Mitsunari told us. "Akuma can see everything. He knows where we are and when we're coming. A sneak attack will never work on him. Believe me, we've tried."

"Yeah, and we lost over three dozen men in that assault without accomplishing a damned thing. So you can go ahead and march right to his front door, but Azuchi Kingdom will have no part in it," Magoichi said to us.

"Fine, you can chicken out if you want to," Naruto said as he glared at Magoichi. "Matt and I will go, the two of us can take down anything that comes our way." That was when Magoichi burst out into laughter, and Naruto's and Matt's glares both hardened.

"Come on! Do you kids really think you stand a chance against this guy? What part of 'he takes down armies' do you not understand? Or is it that you just have a death wish? Is that what it is?"

Matt gritted his teeth, causing my eyes to narrow as I watched him, and he stepped forward and said, "You have no idea what kinds of things we've faced. You're trying to tell me that this guy is stronger than anything in history? Get in line, we've already fought plenty of people like that. We've had aliens march armies right into our cities, go on massacres, and start wars. And we beat them. You know how? Because we didn't just sit back and say we can't do it. So if you wusses wanna go back to your fort and hide, fine. Meanwhile we'll be fighting Akuma and picking up your slack. We'll save the world so you don't have to. Hell, it's a weekly occurrence for us. See ya around."

Matt and Naruto walked off, and as Mitsunari, Magoichi and I watched the two of them, and just when I was getting ready to follow, Magoichi said, "I don't care what you've fought."

Matt and Naruto both turned around to look at him, and I thought Matt was going to start a fight with him right now.

"Don't try and talk to me about saving the world," Magoichi continued. "I've done things that you can't even process, all for the sake of my Kingdom. I won't let anyone bring harm to the people I care about, and I'll fight to my dying breath to protect them. You're just kids, you don't know anything about that." Matt pulled out a kunai, and I immediately came around behind him, holding grabbing his knife. Without hesitation Matt made hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He blasted out an enormous fireball at Magoichi, whose eyes narrowed as he leaped into the air. Matt's jutsu gouged out a broad line in the earth as it raged past, and Magoichi pulled out his knife and held it in front of him.

Naruto made a hand sign, but Matt stopped him. Naruto looked at him with a confused expression and said, "You stay out of this. This ass is mine."

[Matt's point-of-view] I made a single hand sign and activated a _Flight Jutsu_, and I shot straight up at Magoichi as he aimed the tip of his sword at me. "_Art of Earth: Stone Convergence!_" About fifty loose rocks on the ground shot straight up at me, and as I saw them all coming, I shot straight up into the air. I flew out of the way of all of the rocks as they shot in every direction, and I looked at Magoichi and made some more hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I shot off a burst of fire at Magoichi, and as he hit the apex of his jump, he descended back down to the ground, allowing the flames to fly over him. I shot down at Magoichi and made some hand signs, and I formed a _Chidori_ that trailed lightning behind me as I closed in on him.

Magoichi landed on the ground and aimed both hands up at me, and he said, "_Art of Earth: Pounding Stones!_" Two tendrils of rocks came up off the ground and shot straight at me, and as I closed in I swung my _Chidori_, severing the ends off of the Stones and leaving them to fall to the ground. As I came closer and closer, Magoichi bent down and placed his palms on the ground, and he said, "_Art of Earth: Raising Stones!_" Large rocks rose up out of the ground around him, forming a wall that rose between myself and him, but I kept coming regardless and brought my _Chidori_ back. The stone wall exploded, blasting dust and rubble past Magoichi as he shielded his face, and I landed on the ground right in front of him amidst the destruction, and brought what little remained of my jutsu around.

Magoichi ducked my attack as I swung the _Chidori_ at him, and he got down on his hands and thrust his foot out, kicking me in the gut and knocking me back. I rolled across the ground a few feet before coming to a stand, and I made more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame-!_" Kakashi put his hand on mine, stopping my jutsu as he stood next to me, glaring down at me.

"Knock it off, Matt," he ordered. "If you intend to fight someone like Akuma, you can't go flying off the handle like that. You need to be calm and ready. But for now, we're going back to camp."

Kakashi's words only mildly registered in my brain as I glared at Magoichi, and he was looking down at me with what looked like suppressed disgust.

"Akuma isn't someone you can beat just by fighting hard enough," Magoichi said to me. "You need to be strong."

"I am strong," I told him.

"Not strong enough," he contradicted. "Go up against Akuma right now, and he'll destroy you, no questions asked. Looking at you now, I can tell it'd take at least two years of training before you're ready to take him on by yourself. You're gonna need a team. You're gonna need all of us."

"And yet you won't help me," I said to him.

Magoichi's eyes narrowed, and he said, "I didn't say that. What I said is that we won't march right into his base so that he can slaughter us. If that's your plan for fighting him, then we won't help you. But if you can stand down and wait, then Azuchi can come up with a plan of fighting him. Lord Oda has already stated he wants to include the three of you in battle against him. So if you can just be patient for a little while, we'll be able to take his forces on."

I considered this for a moment before saying, "I still think hitting him now when he's least expecting it is the best course of action."

Magoichi let out an exasperated groan as he slapped his face with his palm, and Mitsunari said, "Matt, I'm telling you, it won't work. Akuma will see us coming, and he'll send his whole army to obliterate us. We need to form a plan, and we need to gather our forces to launch a full assault. A small unit will only get slaughtered. Trust me on this."

Naruto and I both looked at him, still somewhat disbelieving, and Kakashi said, "You and your people know Akuma better than we do. If you feel that returning to base is best, then that's what we need to do."

I knew that no amount of protesting would override Kakashi's decision, and I looked over at Naruto to see he seemed to have come to the same conclusion. With all arguing having been purged, the five of us agreed to return back to the Azuchi war garrison.

As we made to head out, a voice echoed out, "Well, it seems the forces of destruction are on the rise." We all looked around with wide eyes for the source of the speaker, and Kakashi was the first one to spot him. He was a guy with a tremendous muscular build, standing at well over six feet tall, and he had long, bulging arms and ripped pectorals and abdominals. He was wearing only black pants, which only accentuated his build, and he had long, black hair held in a ponytail that went down to his waist.

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked.

"You may call me Fuma," the man declared. "Fuma Kotaro."

"What?" Mitsunari said, eyes widened in fear.

I looked over at Magoichi, and saw that even he seemed to be having his worst fears realized. "I never thought we would come up against…of all people, him," he said.

"What? Who is this guy?" Naruto asked as he kept his eyes on him.

"Fuma Kotaro," Kakashi said. "I've heard the name before, but I can't think of where."

Fuma's steely grin widened, as if he were waiting for Kakashi to remember.

As Kakashi continued to ponder where he had heard the name, he mused to himself, "Fuma Kotaro…Fuma…Kotaro…no, Kotaro Fuma!" His eyes widened in realization, and it looked like his worst fears had come to reality as well. "You…you're a legend of Ancient Japan. You're a wanderer, a shinobi without a master. You search for conflict, intervening in the bloodiest wars to cause the most death and destruction as possible. You've fought some of the strongest shinobi and samurai of the time period. I can't believe…of all places, you're here."

"It's not every day when shinobi from the future grace this godforsaken kingdom. I just hope that by fighting you, I get to cause as much destruction as I can."

"Well, bring it on," I said as Naruto and I drew kunai.

"No, we need to leave," Kakashi said as he put his hand on my shoulder from behind.

"Kakashi's right," Mitsunari confirmed as he and Magoichi prepared to flee.

"We need to get out of here as fast as possible, or he'll kill us."

"Oh, I can't allow you to run," Kotaro said as he raised his fists. "That would prevent destruction. And that is something we just cannot have." He then made a sequence of hand signs, causing Kakashi's, Naruto's and my eyes to widen, and he aimed one fist at us as it became engulfed in dark-purple fire. But this fire wasn't the same as what comprised the Shadow Ghouls, which seemed more like a solid object; this looked exactly like flames, just of a different color.

"_Art of the Shinobi!_" Kotaro called out, "_Flames of Destruction!_" From his fist fired off three balls of fire that crashed to the ground around us, igniting huge explosions that blasted up smoke and fire around us. The five of us flew out of the chaos and spread out amongst nearby trees, and Kotaro looked around at us with a malicious grin on his face. He raised his arm up, causing his hand to become engulfed in purple flames again, and he said, "_Art of the Shinobi: Chaotic Firestorm!_" He swung his arm around, and a massive wave of flames destroyed the trees we were standing in, sending us all scattering in the smoke.

I came down on the ground twenty feet from Kotaro, and he looked at me without attacking as I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style!_" Kotaro had his fist in my gut, pressing my body in and leaving me to stand there in shock. A trickle of blood spilled out of my mouth as I stared out past Kotaro with my eyes wide.

Kotaro looked down at me, his height towering over mine, and he said to me, "Do you think your petty jutsu will have any effect on me? You are not the target of my bloodlust. Be gone." He grabbed me by the top of my head and swung me around, hurling me away and sending me smashing straight through a nearby boulder. A cloud of dust rose into the air as I stood on my fours, struggling to get back to my feet as my teeth gritted in pain.

_What the hell?_ I said to myself as I had my head turned halfway to look at him. _This guy…I've been hit hard before, but this guy's power isn't like anything I've ever seen. _

Mitsunari pulled out his sword and jumped up into the air, conjuring water around the blade while Magoichi remained on the ground and pulled out his knife. Kotaro took a step forward and blasted Magoichi with fire, knocking him back while Mitsunari fired a stream of water down at him. Kotaro looked up as the water came down, and suddenly he was at the side of the stream as it ran into the ground. Mitsunari came down and landed on one of the trees, and he aimed the tip of his water, engulfed blade down at Kotaro.

"You seem strong. I hope you will provide me with the destruction I crave."

"Sorry, I kind of fight for the opposite effect," Mitsunari said to him as he put his hand on the bicep of the arm holding his sword. "_Art of Water: Sea Bullets!_" He fired off a series of concentrated water balls that moved almost faster than the eye could see, but Kotaro swung his arms through the air as they came, knocking each bullet away one at a time. Kakashi appeared in the air right behind Kotaro and swung his foot down, landing it in his collar with all his strength.

Kotaro simply seemed amused as he looked over his shoulder at him, and he said, "That was a nice kick. You seem like you're fairly strong as well. Maybe you'd like to help me reek destruction?"

Kakashi retracted his foot and dropped to the ground, and he then leaped back into the air as me made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" Kakashi fired off an intense stream of fire that raged down at Kotaro, who put his arm up in defense as it washed over him. Kotaro stood tall in the flames as he looked through them with a grin, and he didn't sustain a single scorch mark to his body. The flames finally died, and Kotaro looked on as Kakashi landed on the ground, looking as if he was at a loss for battle tactics.

"_Rasengan!_" Naruto charged forward with his jutsu raised, and he thrust it forward and rammed it into Kotaro's body. Kotaro was knocked back several feet, and he had a large burn on his flesh from where Naruto had hit him. He landed on the ground, squatted down with one hand on the earth in front of him, and he looked at Naruto with a much more interested look on his face.

"Well, _that_ was a nice attack. It's somewhat lacking in destructive power, though."

"Yeah, I don't really have any of Matt's _Fire Style_ or the super-powerful jutsu that the samurai use, but I can promise you I've got more power inside me than you can imagine," Naruto said to him.

"Is that so? Would you care to show it to me?" Kotaro asked as he braced himself.

"_Art of Earth: Raising Stones!_" Large rocks rose up off the ground around Kotaro, forming a dome that completely encased him in rock. Magoichi rose to his feet the instant the rock dome exploded, sending rubble flying as Kotaro stood in the dust, arms folded and looking at Magoichi with a small grin.

"That was rather weak, Saika," Kotaro said to him. "I remember the jutsu you used against me the last time we fought. They were much better. You should use those again."

"You've fought this guy before?" Naruto said as he looked around at Magoichi.

"Once," Magoichi confirmed. "And it was the closest I've ever come to dying. Which is why I can say that the four of you need to leave immediately. Go back to Azuchi and tell Lord Nobunaga what has happened. If Kotaro Fuma has decided to engage himself in this battle, then we need to completely redraw our strategies. Go. I'll hold him off as long as I can."

At that moment, Kotaro's grin widened, and he said, "I didn't expect you to get so here quickly, Hanzo."

Another man stood in the trees to Kotaro's left, looking down at him. He was wearing traditional shinobi battle armor, along with dark-blue shirt and pants, and a hat that had metal plating coming down off the side, as well as a mask, hid all but his eyes. "L-Lord Hanzo Hattori!" Mitsunari addressed.

"Ishida," Hattori said in a deep, slow voice.

"Wait, _you're_ Hanzo Hattori?" Kakashi said with wide eyes.

"I am," Hanzo confirmed.

"That's excellent," Kakashi said with renewed hope. "It's said that Hanzo Hattori is the only person that who can fight Kotaro Fuma."

"Yeah, and history isn't just a story," Magoichi confirmed with a grin on his face.

"I may be strong, but I don't begin to compare to Lord Hattori. He's the only person other than Lord Oda that I'll take orders from."

"Good," Hanzo stated. "Leave. There is no reason for you to fight him. He is my enemy."

"My Lord, we can assist you if you wish," Mitsunari said to him.

"I do not," Hanzo confirmed.

"Very well," Mitsunari stated. "Everyone, let's get going."

"Worry not," Kotaro said. "I do not wish to fight Hanzo right at this moment. However, he and I will have our coming battle soon." Kotaro erupted into dark-purple flames and disappeared, leaving the five of us to look at Hanzo.

As he walked over to us, Mitsunari and Magoichi immediately bowed, prompting, Naruto, Kakashi and I to do the same. "I knew eventually that he would involve himself with this battle," Hanzo said, mostly to Mitsunari.

"Your assistance against him is greatly appreciated," Mitsunari said to him. "We are in your debt."

"I will follow him," Hanzo said to us. "If he is to try and interfere in the battle again, he will have me as his opponent."

"Thank you, Lord," Magoichi said.

Hanzo nodded, and he then disappeared. The five of us rose to our feet, and we all looked around at each other. "It's time for us to return to headquarters," Mitsunari stated. "We need to report to Lord Oda all that has happened today."

"Agreed," Magoichi confirmed. With that, we all returned to the Azuchi war garrison, where Nobunaga had been waiting on a report. Mitsunari and Magoichi took it in turns to explain to him what all had happened, while Kakashi, Naruto and I stood silently in the background. When Magoichi had finished telling how Hanzo had agreed to align himself with us against Kotaro, Nobunaga looked pleased.

"This is good news. Keeping the demon of the Fuma clan from intervening in the battle will cause things to go much more smoothly," he stated.

"If I may ask, my Lord," Kakashi said from the background of the conversation.

The three of them turned their eyes on him, and Kakashi said, "Why did Kotaro Fuma attack us the way he did? What does he stand to gain in getting himself caught in the middle of our battle with Akuma?"

"Physically, nothing," Nobunaga answered. "Kotaro is a maniac who is fueled by nothing more than pure chaos and devastation. We have tried many times to bring him out of the picture, but he is simply too powerful. Lord Hanzo Hattori is the only form of peace we've had against him. I have no issues with allowing the two of them to battle. In the meantime, we must prepare for war. The attacks by Keiji as well as the Shadow Ghouls have severely stunted our ability to plan. Sakon will assist me in drawing up a war map for our next battle. In the meantime, the five of you are relieved for respite. You all have had a difficult battle today, and you need to be in top form for fighting Akuma. Return to your quarters; we will begin official war council tomorrow."

We all took our bows and left, and Magoichi and Mitsunari went their own ways while Kakashi, Naruto and I headed to our barracks. When we got there, we sat on our beds and immediately ignited conversation.

"So, there are people here that use hand signs after all," was the first thing out of my mouth.

"Apparently," Kakashi agreed. "The best I can gather is that hand signs are something that strictly the shinobi employ, while samurai simply use an elevated control over their chakra. I don't know much else; we'll just have to wait and see what all we can find out tomorrow. On that note, the three of us turned off the lights and went to sleep. The next morning, Nobunaga's sentry woke us up at dawn again (which hadn't gotten any easier), and told us to meet Lord Oda in the war council room.

We entered the room to find that we were the last ones there again, and Nobunaga, Magoichi, Mitsunari, and Sakon all looked up when we came in. "Why are you three always late?" Magoichi asked.

"Because like most normal people we enjoy sleep," I answered as I sat down across from him. Kakashi and Naruto sat down as well, and we all waited for what Nobunaga had to say.

"Sakon has come up with a strategy for defeating Akuma, and I find it only fitting that he be the one to relay it to you," Nobunaga announced.

Sakon cleared his throat and said, "I've thought about it, and I think I know the best way to hit Akuma the hardest so that he won't get back up."

"Yeah, what is it?" Naruto asked.

"We send a small unit to sneak into his stronghold, and then take him out when he least expects it."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Naruto smirk smugly at Magoichi, who tried his best to not look angry when he said, "Wipe that grin off your face, kid."

"Sakon, you know as well as anyone that that won't work," Mitsunari said to him.

"Maybe not before, but it will now," Sakon corrected him. Mitsunari waited for him to explain, and the rest of us tuned in as well. "For the past few weeks I've been working on something, and I've finally perfected it," Sakon explained.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"It's a way to shield our chakra from Akuma's senses," he answered. "I've devised that the way Akuma senses our attacks coming is via our chakra emission. I've come up with a way of blocking off our chakra so that he won't be able to sense us. That way, we should be able to sneak in unopposed and take him out.

"Alright!" Naruto said ecstatically.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Magoichi asked. "I mean I spent all day yesterday telling these kids that a sneak attack wouldn't work. I'd hate to have to go and tell them that they were right after all."

"It'll work," Sakon assured him. "I've already tested it, and I can guarantee that Akuma will not see us coming."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I said to him, equally pleased as Naruto.

"If you're certain that he won't detect us, then now is as good a chance as any," Kakashi said.

"I agree," Sakon confirmed. "So if you're all ready to move, the six of us will head out now."

"You mean seven." Nobunaga rose to his feet and grabbed his sword off the table in front of him, and he looked confidently at Sakon.

"M-My lord," Sakon said, who seemed to be too in shock to form a response.

"This will be the final battle against Akuma and his forces. There is no entity on this planet that will keep me from participating."

"But who will protect the Kingdom if you're gone?" Mitsunari asked.

"I have left temporary control of Azuchi to Tokugawa," Nobunaga answered.

"Ieyasu, huh?" Magoichi said.

"Yes," Nobunaga confirmed. "He has the mind of a brilliant leader, and I have no qualms of leaving the care of Azuchi in his hands. Although I will say, I do have every intention of returning to my throne," Nobunaga assured us.

"Then, my Lord," Sakon said with a smile. "It will be an honor fighting alongside you. I look forward to ending this demon's reign once and for all."

"You and I both," Nobunaga responded. "Now, lead the way, Sakon, so we may bring down Akuma." Sakon nodded, and with that, the seven of us left the Azuchi garrison.

I never felt anything, but apparently Sakon had long since used his jutsu to cloak our chakra. And it seemed to work too, because we passed the borders of Azuchi into Akuma's territory without seeing any resistance. Kakashi seemed to find it odd that Akuma wouldn't have any guards against intruders, but Nobunaga told him not to worry, that our only priority was getting to Akuma's stronghold. The forest at the western border of Azuchi seemed to go on forever, an endless sea of trees with no way out. But as we got deeper and deeper I started to feel something. At first I thought it was residual chakra in the air, but then I realized it was something different. It was darker, heavier, and it caused a chill to run down my spine. I had had feelings like it before, but only around a select few people. It was as if evil had infested the air, causing pure fear to course through my body. We were getting close to Akuma.

After about an hour of traveling, we finally came to a clearing in the forest, and what I saw made my jaw slacken as I looked up. A massive building stood fifteen stories tall and encompassed an area of about five thousand square feet. It was an ancient Japanese castle, made out of wood, stone and plaster, with a dozen layers rising up from the foundation. The multi-layered roof was a dark-purple in color, while the walls were black, giving off a distinctly sinister aura.

"Is this…," Naruto said, "is this Akuma's?"

"Yes," Nobunaga answered. "This is his fortress. Once we enter it, so begins the final battle that will end this war. I need to know; if any of the three of you feel unprepared for this, then say so immediately.

"Hah! You kidding?" Naruto said with a confident grin.

"I didn't come all this way just to wuss out now," I said to Nobunaga.

Kakashi looked between the two of us and said, "As their teacher, I can say that arguing with them is a waste of breath, so we might as well go in there and end this."

Nobunaga nodded and said, "Very well. We will sneak around to the flank and make our own entrance."

"We're probably gonna face heavy resistance as soon as we're inside, so we need to be ready for whatever comes," Sakon said to us.

"Roger," Naruto confirmed.

"Alright, since none of us are getting any younger here, let's get in there and finish it," Magoichi said.

Nobunaga nodded, and he led the party around to the side of the castle. As we stood near the outer wall, Sakon asked, "Who would like to make our entry?"

"I'll do it," I said as I stepped forward. I popped bones in my neck and then made some hand signs, and I said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I breathed out an enormous fireball that slammed into the side of the castle, blasting out a huge hole into the structure that sent plumes of smoke rising into the air. The edges of the hole were alight with flames, and we all immediately jumped in, spreading out in the immediate vicinity to prepare for Akuma's forces.

When we were all set for battle, however, we found that this entire area of the castle was completely deserted. We were the only ones here. "Can you sense anything, Mitsunari?" Magoichi asked.

"No, I can't," Mitsunari answered. "It's like a wall is blocking my sensing abilities."

"I forgot to mention," Sakon said, "a side-effect of my cloaking jutsu means that anyone with sensory abilities under its effect won't be able to use their powers while the jutsu is active."

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"We start looking," Magoichi answered.

Nobunaga nodded in agreement, and he headed the party in search of any sign of Akuma's forces. Running through hallways, traversing staircases, searching rooms, we found not one sign of Shadow Ghoul or enemy samurai. Magoichi suggested that Sakon take down the cloaking jutsu so that Mitsunari could sense, but he stated that if he did, it would reveal their positions to wherever Akuma's forces were in the castle, bringing them all to them at once. We spent roughly forty-five minutes searching without yielding any results, until finally we came to the door of what appeared to be a dojo.

Magoichi took the lead while the rest of us prepared to follow through, and he threw the door open while we all jumped inside. "Took you guys long enough to find me." We had come into a very large, spacious room that had wooden floors and plaster walls, and it was completely empty except for a man standing near the back of the room. I had to admit, if this was Akuma, he wasn't quite what I had been expecting.

He was a man in his thirties wearing green battle armor, and he was looking at us with an expression that showed he was ready for war. I mean yeah, he definitely looked tough, but I figured an all-powerful being from the ancient days of Japan would look a little bit more intimidating. "Masamune Date," Magoichi announced as he pulled out his knife.

"It's been a while, Saika," the man said. "The Great Akuma has sent me to be the one to fight you. You won't be able to get to him unless you are able to defeat me, which I can guarantee won't happen."

"How about you just tell us where he is, and we'll take you both on at the same time," I suggested.

Masamune grinned and said, "That won't be happening. You see, Lord Akuma can't be expected to trifle with vermin such as yourselves, so he sends his officers to do it for him. I don't know why Keiji couldn't have been sent; he'd have been a much better man for a job like this, but I mustn't question Lord Akuma's will. That being said, I'm afraid your little quest ends here. And that you brought the great Nobunaga Oda here as well makes this all the sweeter. When I kill the king of Azuchi himself, Akuma will be unopposed in conquering your land. It's all a matter of time."

"Does this guy always talk so much?" Naruto said as he looked at him with a bored expression.

"Yeah, he's kind of the chatterbox of Akuma's forces," Magoichi answered.

"I don't care how much he talks, if we have to get through him to get to Akuma, then let's just blow him aside and force our way through," I said as I braced for combat. "I mean, come on, the seven of us against him? This shouldn't be a problem."

_He's not wrong,_ Kakashi thought to himself. _One person certainly isn't enough to stop all of us. Why would Akuma leave his central garrison so undefended? Something isn't right here._

"The seven of us won't be taking part in this battle," Sakon informed the group. He reached around to his back to grab a sword handle, and he pulled around a massive sword with a blade that was four feet long and five inches wide. The blade itself was straight with the last ten inches or so curving towards the back end to make a tip, and the twelve-inch grip was bound in heavy leather under Sakon's hands. "The rest of you need to go," Sakon said to us. "There is no reason for all of us to participate in this battle. You go look for Akuma while I battle Masamune. As soon as I'm done I'll catch up to you."

"Are you sure?" Kakashi asked.

"Positive," Sakon answered. "Now get going."

"Come," Nobunaga said. "Let's leave Sakon be. We need not be caught in his powers." He took the lead once again as the remaining six of us ran off in search of Akuma.

[_Third-person point-of-view_] Sakon held his blade diagonally as he bent his knees, waiting for Masamune to give him a chance to strike. "I can't say I've ever seen you in combat before," Masamune said to him. "I look forward to seeing just how inept you truly are."

"You certainly aren't the modest type, are you?" Sakon said. "I've heard legends about your combat prowess before Akuma came. You were one of the strongest samurai around. You stood for honor and dignity, and would never oppress the innocent. So tell me, what caused you to join him?"

Masamune's eyes narrowed, and he said, "Lord Akuma has promised me great things in return for working with him. Of all those great things you spoke of that I've done, not once have I ever seen any gratitude for them. The world is so caught up in its own progression that it can't even see when someone's done them an act of kindness. I was sick of serving the weak without gratitude, so when Lord Akuma came, I joined him. He promised me a spot at the top of his forces, where all would know of my greatness. _That_ is why I joined him."

Sakon didn't respond as he prepared to attack, and Masamune grinned again.

"And you will soon be the first to see how great I am." He clapped his hands together and said, "_Weapons Summoning Technique: Reaper's Edge!_" A puff of smoke engulfed Masamune completely, and Sakon prepared himself for any impending assault. The smoke cleared, and Masamune was standing in the same spot, but now he was holding a large scythe. The shaft was six feet long and composed of gnarled wood, with ran along the top of the chine, stretching three feet to the tip. "Perish by my blade," Masamune demanded.

Sakon held his sword out and said, "_Art of Fire: Sword of Flames!_" A coat of fire surrounded the blade of his sword, and he and Masamune both prepared to charge each other. The two samurai both shot forward at the same time, and as they closed in on each other in an instant, they both swung their blades. Metal collided in the air, causing a massive shockwave that shook the castle, and sparks and embers shot out from the contact point. Sakon swung his blade around, shoving Masamune's scythe aside with it, and he swung his sword at Date's gut.

Masamune jumped back just as the flames barely missed his armor, and he landed on the ground a few feet back and prepared to swing his sword again. Sakon brought his sword to one side just as the flames on his blade grew stronger, and he said, "_Art of Fire: Ignition Slash!_" He swung his sword around, firing off an arc of flames at Masamune, but Masamune leaped into the air, coming over Sakon with his scythe ready to swing.

"_Art of the Samurai: Reaper's Strike!_" As Masamune swung his scythe around, a ghost of the blade that was many times bigger than the original took form centered on the blade itself, and Masamune's strike came at Sakon from the side. Sakon saw the attack coming and held his sword up in defense, but the force of the assault hit him head-on and blasted up dust, sending Sakon flying back and smashing into the wall of the dojo. The ghost blade disappeared, and Masamune looked on with a grin at the dust cloud shrouding Sakon.

A fiery light broke through the smoke, and Sakon shot out with his sword raised, flames trailing off the blade as he came at Masamune. Masamune raised his scythe over his head in preparation to bring it down on Sakon, but Sakon held his sword out to his side and said, "_Art of Fire: Ground Flame Assault!_" He swung his sword across the ground, igniting a trail of flames that shot at Masamune, and when it came within range it jumped up, knocking his scythe back up into the air and leaving him open.

Masamune quickly recovered and leaped into the air, and he prepared to swing his scythe as Sakon veered upward and continued coming at him. Sakon concentrated fire into his sword blade, and as he closed in on Masamune, he said, "_Art of Fire: Dragon's Sword Strike!_" Sakon closed the gap between himself and Masamune, whose scythe was far too slow to counter him, and he swung his sword across Date's side, letting out a burst of flames that exploded out from the contact point. Masamune was blown out of the air, trailing smoke as he came down and crashed into the ground, and Sakon landed on the ground at a squat facing the opposite direction.

He straightened up and turned around to face Masamune, slinging his sword over his shoulder while he looked down at him. Masamune was sprawled across the ground in a crater he had punched on impact, and he struggled to get back to his feet while his scythe rested next to him. In a flash, Masamune grabbed his scythe and came in the air over Sakon, his weapon held over his head to swing down. "_Art of the Samurai: Reaper's Strike!_" The ghost of the scythe blade reappeared as Masamune swung down, and Sakon held his own sword over his head to defend himself.

The attack blasted up dust and sent rubble flying across the dojo, concealing Sakon while Masamune bore down on him. Masamune brought his scythe around behind him, tearing out a line in the floor as he did, and he brought his weapon back around, jutsu still in effect, and he slammed it into Sakon once again. A line of dust blasted out of the cloud and smashed into the wall of the dojo, bringing a part of it down as a cloud of dust set in the destruction.

"I said you couldn't beat me, didn't I!?" Masamune said as he brought his scythe around behind him. He swung his scythe over his head and said, "_Art of the Samurai: Crevasse Strike!_" He brought his scythe down and slammed it into the ground, and the floor collapsed in a broad line towards Sakon, sending the dojo collapsing into the level below.

The entire castle shook with the force of the attack, and as Matt and company continued their search for Akuma, they were forced to a halt as they quickly grabbed something to keep on their feet. "What the hell is going on over there?" Magoichi asked as he looked in the direction that the sounds of battle were coming from.

Dust and rubble cascaded down from the destroyed dojo, and Masamune jumped down from what remained of the floor into a blanket of dust, with rubble strewn all over the ground as dirt coated the walls. Masamune looked around for any sign of Sakon, when Sakon appeared in the air right behind him with his fire-engulfed sword raised. Sakon brought his sword down and unleashed a massive burst of flames that blasted back past Masamune and lit half the room ablaze.

"Gah!" Masamune had instinctively held his arm up in defense, and the heat as well as the explosive force of the attack had severely damaged his armor and skin. His scythe in his opposite hand, Masamune swung his weapon around, but Sakon ducked the strike as he held his sword out in front of him.

"_Art of Fire!_" Sakon said as he concentrated fire into his sword, "_Breath of the Dragon!_" Sakon swung his sword around and unleashed a wave of flames that engulfed Masamune, causing him to scream in pain as he crossed his arms in defense. The force of the jutsu eventually knocked him backwards into the air, sending him crashing into the wall near the ceiling and blasting out dust from the impact. Sakon braced himself as he held his sword aloft, and he shot up after Masamune, chasing him through the hole he had punched in the wall.

Masamune came down and landed on the ground on his feet, looking over his shoulder the way he came with burns and blood all over him. Sakon shot through the hole Masamune had come through, and he flipped around through the air and landed on the ceiling, bent down with his hands on the plaster surface at his sides while he looked down at Masamune. Masamune growled in anger as he wielded his sword, and the blade then became shrouded in purple energy. "_Art of the Samurai: Reaper's Slash!_" He swung his scythe around and unleashed an arc of purple energy that shot up at Sakon, and he dropped off the ceiling just as it was blasted apart, and he flipped upright as he landed on the ground.

The instant his feet touched the floor he shot straight at Masamune with his sword raised, but Masamune brought his scythe over his head and activated another _Reaper's Strike_. He brought his scythe down on top of Sakon, who barrel-rolled to the side to let it smash into the ground, blasting up dust and rubble as it embedded itself into the castle floor. Sakon came back to his feet and swung his sword, but Masamune brought the shaft around to block the strike, and he then swung his foot into Sakon's side, knocking him across the ground.

Sakon tumbled back to his feet and swung his sword, firing an arc of flames at Masamune. Masamune grabbed his scythe with his hands, situated three feet apart from each other as he brought his weapon up through the flames, dispersing them and leaving him unharmed. Masamune readjusted his grip and shot at Sakon, but Sakon came in with his sword raised, ducking past Masamune's guard and swinging his sword with all his strength. Blood spattered through the air from the diagonal gash that Sakon cut into Masamune's torso, and Masamune screamed in pain as he stumbled back, trying to stem blood flow.

Sakon walked casually towards him, but the sound of his footsteps made Masamune looked up through a pained expression at him. "You think that's all it'll take to beat me?" Masamune said angrily. "I'll cut you to pieces!" He swung his scythe around, bringing it at Sakon who held his sword up in defense. Masamune's strike knocked him back across the ground, but he landed on his feet and skidded across the floor with his sword held up into the air. Masamune swung his sword and fired off another _Reaper's Slash_ at Sakon, but Sakon rekindled the flames around his sword and swung it through the attack, dispersing the energy and leaving him open to counter.

Sakon swung his sword, firing off an arc of flames that shot down and hit the ground at Masamune's feet, blasting up a wave of flames that washed over him, causing him to scream in pain as he held his arms up to shield his face. The fire subsided, and Sakon shot in with his sword raised, and as Masamune stood paralyzed by pain, he put up no defense against him. Sakon brought his sword up over his head, and then swung it down on top of Masamune with all his strength, releasing an enormous blast of flames that sent him smashing through the floor and blasting up dust and smoke.

Masamune crashed through several levels of the castle, sending dust and rubble raining down on each floor, until he finally came to a stop four stories below. Sakon had his sword hoisted over his shoulder as he looked through the wreckage, amidst all the dust clouds down at Masamune. Masamune lay on the ground with blood pooling under him, and his scythe lay next to him while his arms were sprawled across the floor. His eyes were closed as his head was twisted to the side, but after a moment his eyes flickered open, and he looked up.

He saw Sakon through the dust, and his eyes narrowed as his teeth gritted, and he uttered an angry growl. His hand reached for his scythe, and as he gripped the shaft he got to a kneel, and his growl gradually escalated into a roar. "Aaargh! I refuse to lose to garbage like you! I am the strongest in this land, and I will _not_ die until I've garnered the respect and fear of _everyone!_" He rose to his feet as his scythe became engulfed in purple energy, and the pressure of the power in his weapon pounded the very air itself, causing Sakon to hold his sword out in front of him.

He ignited the flames in his blade as he prepared to strike, and he aimed the tip down at Masamune. "This is my strongest jutsu," Masamume announced. "It's sheer destructive force will leave you no more than a smear of blood. Nothing you can do will save you; your life will end here and now!" All of the power resonating from his scythe came to a peak, and Masamune called out, "_Art of the Samurai: Death God Slash!_" As he brought his scythe back the tip leaked a trail of energy that destroyed the ground behind him, and Sakon's eyes widened as he quickly switched from offense to defense, holding his sword as a shield in front of him.

Masamune swung his scythe around, unleashing a massive wave of purple energy that shot up at Sakon, destroying everything as it crashed into him. The _Death God Slash_ crashed up through every floor in the castle, blasting up smoke, dust and rubble as the entire building was torn apart. Matt and company were all caught in the chaos, everyone being knocked in all directions as the castle collapsed around them, smoke billowing through the air. The attack blasted out through the roof of the castle, expanding outwards and tearing a wide line through the structure as the energy rose up into the sky.

When the carnage finally died, the castle had been torn almost completely in two, with piles of rubble blanketing the floor while a giant pillar of smoke floated up from the wreckage. Masamune stood at the root of the destruction, panting heavily as he looked on at the completely annihilated castle. As he stood there, continuing to pant in pain and exhaustion, he finally took on a triumphant grin. "That's right," he said. "I told you that you couldn't beat me. And I've taken out the rest of them along the way. Hah! Akuma will be ecstatic."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Masamune's eyes widened, and an instant later Sakon swung his sword through his back, spattering blood across the ground as Masamune fell to his knees. Sakon stood behind him while Masamune dropped, and he had blood all over him while his clothes were in tatters. Sakon put his sword in the scabbard on his back, and he looked down as Masamune hit the ground, blood pooling under him. Matt and the others all came down out of the above floors, landing on the ground around them and surveying the scene.

[_Matt's point-of-view_] Masamune was trembling as he groaned in pain, and his breath was coming in short gasps. "Nice job, Sakon," Mitsunari commended.

"Man, Akuma's not gonna like that you destroyed his castle," Magoichi said to Masamune.

Masamune then chuckled as he looked at him, and he said, "He'll have a new one soon."

"Yeah, and how's that?" Magoichi asked.

"Because, his army is currently laying siege to the Azuchi capital city as we speak," Masamune informed them. Everyone gasped at this, and Nobunaga immediately turned around and shot off.

"Lord Oda!" Mitsunari called.

Masmune laughed through pained breath, and he said, "Worry not, for you all will soon be dead." Masamune then closed his eyes and fell motionless, leaving his last words like ghosts in the air.

"What the hell are we waiting for?" I said to the group. "We need to get back to Azuchi and fight!"

"Let's go!" Mitsunari said.

Upon arriving at the capital city of Azuchi, two things were clear to me: this city had once been beautiful, and it was now completely destroyed. Fires burned across the buildings, and citizens were in a panic as Shadow Ghouls attacked them. The Azuchi military had been forced into haphazard battle mode, and were struggling to put up a fight as over three hundred Shadow Ghouls tore right through their forces. Nobunaga had wasted no time in making his presence known, blasting his way through a dozen Shadow Ghouls before we had even made it to the city.

"Let's move!" Mitsunari ordered. "We need to clear the city of Shadow Ghouls before they completely level the place! Let's split up and take out as many as we can! If anyone sees Akuma, send up a signal letting everyone else know where you are!"

"Roger!" We all confirmed. We all shot off in different directions, Naruto and I sticking together while Mitsunari and Magoichi formed a team, and Kakashi and Sakon were on their own.

Towards the center of the city, three people stood on a rooftop overlooking the destruction. One of them was Keiji, while the man next to him was a very large and muscular individual, adorned in bronze armor with a large spear mounted on his back. Standing in front of them with his arms folded was a man wearing dark-purple battle armor, intricately designed with spikes at the elbows and shoulders, and his helmet coated a face with paper-white skin, and he had black markings under his eyes. His eyes themselves had black sclera and pupil, and his irises were purple.

"Spread out," the man ordered. "Kill anyone you see."

Keiji and the other man disappeared while their leader remained on the roof, overlooking the chaos as Shadow Ghouls destroyed the city. The building he was standing on then exploded with tremendous force, blasting up dust and rubble while Akuma leaped into the air. Nobunaga rammed his sword into Akuma's arm, and the king of Azuchi glared angrily at him as he drove him down towards the ground.

"Nobunaga," Akuma addressed. "Do you like what I've done to your precious Kingdom?"

"You swine!" Nobunaga shouted. "I will dispatch you in an instant!" Nobunaga brought his sword to his side and built up pure strength, and he swung it around and rammed it into Akuma, sending him flying down and smashing into a building. Nobunaga dropped down and lnded on the ground, looking up at the cloud of dust flowing out of the crater Akuma had punched into the wall.

Nobunaga's eyes then narrowed, and he looked over his shoulder to see Akuma standing fifteen feet behind him, looking at him with a casual expression. "You know you're going to have to do better than that," Akuma told him. Nobunaga made no comment as he turned around fully, holding his sword out in front of him in preparation to attack.

Meanwhile, Keiji landed on a rooftop and raised his arm, and as he charged up lightning into palm he said, "_Art of Lightning: Gale Crash!_" He held his arm straight out and fired a bream of lightning that crashed into a building, blasting up an enormous explosion that sent smoke and flames rising into the air.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" Fiery light illuminated Keiji as he looked up, and he then dove off the side of the building as it was blasted apart, sending burning rubble cascading across the battlefield as Keiji dove headfirst towards the ground. Keiji landed on the ground, and I appeared right in front of him with a _Chidori_ raised, and as I swung my attack around, Keiji jumped back, evading my jutsu while I landed on the ground. Keiji then aimed his arm at me and fired another _Gale Crash_, but I leaped into the air over it, letting it crash into the ground and blast up smoke and flames. As I sailed through the air I made some hand signs, and I fired off a _Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu_ down at him.

Keiji sparked electricity around his hands that surrounded him in a current, and as he brought his arms around he said, "_Art of Lightning: Thunder Stream!_" He swung his arms down and fired all of the electricity at the ground in front of him, causing it to spring back up in a giant torrent that blasted right through my jutsu as it came up at me. I dove to the side as the _Thunder Stream_ came at me, and I came down towards the ground while making more hand signs. Keiji appeared right in front of me with his fist raised, and he thrust it into my arms held out in defense, sending me flying back and smashing into the front wall of a building. Keiji looked on with a grin on his face, and that was when Naruto and his _Shadow Clone_ came down on top of him with a _Rasengan_.

Keiji looked around to see them coming, and he leaped forward just as Naruto came down, smashing his jutsu into the ground and blasting out a crater into the earth. Naruto looked on as Keiji flew over to the rooftop that he had knocked me into, and he looked down at Naruto with a coaxing grin. Fire burst out of the bottom of the building, destroying its walls as the blaze blasted up towards the roof. Keiji looked down in shock as the fire raged up at him, blasting out the walls of the building as it came, and he jumped off the roof just as it was destroyed in a fiery blast, sending a pillar of flames shooting up into the sky.

I appeared in the air right behind him, and I swung my foot around and landed it in his back, knocking him down and sending him smashing into the ground. Naruto immediately followed through by conjuring three _Shadow Clones_, and the four of them formed two _Rasengans_ and prepared to charge. Out of the dust that Keiji was in came a stream of lightning, and Naruto dove to the side as his clones were obliterated, and he shot straight at Keiji with his _Rasengan_ raised. Keiji shot out of the dust cloud and came to Naruto's side with his fist raised, but Naruto wasted no time in swinging his jutsu around, ramming it into Keiji's fist and knocking him back. "Gah!" Keiji went tumbling across the ground as blood spattered out from several cuts in his hand, but he immediately flipped back to his feet and aimed his palm at Naruto.

"_Rasengan!_" I came down right on top of Keiji with my own jutsu raised, and he was caught completely off guard as his eyes widened in shock. I blasted up dust around him, but he immediately jumped back out of it, coming right in front of a building with a grin on his face. The dust cleared to reveal myself kneeling on the ground, and I looked at him as I straightened back up.

"I don't think yours is quite as strong as his," Keiji commented to me with a sly grin.

"No, it's not," I agreed. "I don't need a _Shadow Clone_ for my jutsu to have full power, but Naruto's will beat mine any day."

"Then maybe I should just take you both out in one blow," Keiji said to us with a confident grin. He aimed one arm at both of us and charged up lightning into both palms. "_Art of Lightning: Dual Gale Crash!_"

Naruto and I did nothing as Keiji fired his jutsu, blasting up smoke and flames over the kingdom and sending rubble raining down across the battlefield. As Keiji chuckled while watching the carnage, fiery light shone out behind him, causing his eyes to widen as he turned around. A raging fireball came at him from the air, and he braced himself to dodge just as Naruto grabbed onto him from behind. "What the hell!?" Keiji said as he looked around.

"You're not going anywhere!" Naruto said just as the fireball crashed into them. Flames exploded into the air, washing down over the field like a tidal wave while I hovered in the air overhead, supported with a _Flight Jutsu_.

In another part of the kingdom, the man in bronze armor that had been with Keiji and Akuma wielded his spear, a gigantic weapon with a shaft six feet long and an intricate blade extending another eighteen inches. He held his spear aloft and said, "_Art of the Samurai: Devastating Swing!_" He swung his spear around, and a line of buildings in front of him was completely demolished, blasting up dust and rubble into the air as they all collapsed to the ground.

"Well that wasn't very nice." The man turned around to see Kakashi standing on a roof looking down at him, and his hands were in his pockets as he looked down at him.

"I don't recall you being in the Azuchi forces," the man stated.

"I'm kind of new in town," Kakashi informed him. "Mind telling me who you are?"

"I am the great Tadakatsu Honda!" he announced.

"Oh…great. My day just keeps getting better," Kakashi said exasperatedly. "Well, normally I don't like trifling in other people's conflicts, but I'm gonna have to prevent you from laying waste to this kingdom. Sorry, deal with it."

Tadakatsu took on a grin and said, "Quite a cheeky one, aren't you? I pray you will be as much of a fight as you believe yourself to be."

"Find out for yourself, Kakashi suggested.

Tadakatsu brought his spear around, and as he built up his strength he said, "_Art of the Samurai: Devastating Swing!_" He swung his spear over his head and brought it down, and Kakashi disappeared just as the building he had been standing on was destroyed, sending dust and rubble flying in all directions.

Kakashi flew through the air over Tadakatsu, and he made some hand signs and said, "_Lightning Style: Thunder Bullets!_" He fired off three blasts down at Tadakatsu, who swung his spear around several times and blocked them all, leaving him unharmed while he leaped up at Kakashi. Tadakatsu brought his spear back as he came up, and when he was within range he swung his weapon around at him. Kakashi pulled out a kunai and blocked the strike, but Tadakatsu's strength knocked him down and sent him smashing into the ground.

Tadakatsu came down after him with his spear aimed straight down, and as he descended down he said, "Be impaled by my spear!" He came down and rammed his spear into the ground, and the shockwave from impact cracked the ground, raising panels of earth as dust billowed up. The dust cleared, and Tadakatsu's eyes narrowed as he looked down at his spear embedded in the ground. "_Fire Style: Meteor Flame Jutsu!_" Kakashi's jutsu shot down at Tadakatsu from behind, but he saw it coming and swung his spear around, bringing through the attack and dispersing the flames.

Tadakatsu spotted Kakashi leaping across some nearby rooftops, and he braced his spear and said, "_Art of the Samurai: Devastating Swing!_" He swung his spear around and caused the rooftops to come crashing to the ground, raising dust while Kakashi flew into the air, safe from harm. Tadakatsu shot up at Kakashi once again, but Kakashi turned to face him and made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" He breathed out his jutsu as Tadakatsu closed in, hitting him directly and blasting him out of the air, sending him flying down in a trail of smoke and crashing into the ground. Kakashi came down and landed on a rooftop, looking down at the smoke cloud that concealed Tadakatsu. A large shadow loomed over Kakashi, and his eyes widened as Tadakatsu swung his spear down from directly behind him, and Kakashi dove to the side as he slammed his weapon into the ground. Kakashi came back to his feet while Tadakatsu swung his spear around again, slamming the shaft into Kakashi's crossed arms and sending him flying into the wall of a nearby building.

Tadakatsu straightened up and held his spear in preparation for a thrust, and he said, "_Art of the Samurai: Piercing Stab!_" He jutted his spear forward, and the discharge of energy that resulted blasted the building to smithereens, sending it collapsing to the ground as a cloud of dust billowed into the air. Kakashi landed on the rooftop behind Tadakatsu, who turned around and swung his spear, but Kakashi ducked it and made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" He breathed out a burst of flames at Tadakatsu, who held his spear out in front of him just as the flames rammed into him. As the fire washed over him, Tadakatsu was forced back a step, coming towards the edge of the roof. The _Nova Flame_ jutsu ceased, and Kakashi stepped in with a _Lightning Blade_ raised and aimed it at Tadakatsu's heart. Tadakatsu saw it coming and swung his blade around, but Kakashi put his jutsu out to block the attack, sending him fling into the air off the rooftop. Tadakatsu held his spear for another thrust, and he fired off another _Piercing Stab_ at Kakashi, who came to the peak of his flight and started descending down to evade it.

Kakashi dove down below the buildings, and Tadakatsu stepped to the edge of the roof, putting the butt of his spear into the roof as he looked out.

Magoichi and Mitsunari were both at work dispatching the various Shadow Ghouls attacking the city, and with the knowledge of their heads as weak spots, the two of them made quick jobs of defeating the minions. Magoichi controlled a _Pounding Stones_ technique that flew around through the air, ramming into Ghouls and knocking them to the ground. Mitsunari followed through by coming in close with his sword and severing their heads, causing their entire bodies to disperse. Sakon was standing on a nearby rooftop, discharging fire jutsu to blast the Ghouls out of the sky, leaving them for the other Azuchi forces to handle.

As they all fought the Ghouls, a massive explosion rose into the air over the kingdom, coming a hundred feet into the air and sending rubble raining down across the city. "That's where Lord Oda is," Mitsunari said as he stabbed a humanoid square in the face.

"Let's go and help him," Magoichi said as he dispelled his _Pounding Stones_ technique. "Sakon!" he called out.

Sakon looked down at them from the rooftop, and he immediately understood and nodded as the three of them all leaped off towards the explosion.

Nobunaga stood in the midst of a massive crater in the ground, smoke and dust rising into the air around him, and he had blood on his face as well as several stains on his armor. He paid them no mind, however, as he looked at Akuma. Akuma was mildly wounded as well, but he looked at Nobunaga just as nonchalantly. "You are strong," Akuma admitted. "But you will not prevail in this battle. Azuchi will fall, and with it, the entire samurai world will be my domain."

"You will not bring down Azuchi here," Nobunaga declared.

"I have the strength of an army at my back. Even if I am to fall, there are powerful men who will stand against you. You will never defeat all of us."

"Yes, I am aware that the three time-traveling shinobi have joined your forces. But it is no matter. They are currently in combat with Keiji and Tadakatsu, who cannot be defeated by the likes of them."

"You overestimate the abilities of your men," Nobunaga informed him. "I have seen the powers that those three wield, and I am confident that they will not be beaten."

"I can vouch for that." Magoichi landed on the ground near Nobunaga, and Mitsunari and Sakon both landed on rooftops on opposite sides of Akuma. Akuma paid them little notice as he continued looking at Nobunaga, who took on a small grin.

At that moment, a foot stood on a rooftop overlooking the burning city. Kotaro Fuma stood on the outskirts of Azuchi, arms folded, smiling at all of the devastation. "Destruction reigns supreme in this battle," Kotaro stated. He then made some hand signs and held his arm out, and dark-purple fire appeared around his fist. "_Art of the Shinobi: Flames of Destruction!_" He fired off a purple fireball that collided into a building, destroying it completely and sending flames rising into the air.

Kotaro's grin widened, and he dropped down and landed inside the city. He looked around and spotted a squad of four samurai marching through the streets, searching for signs of Shadow Ghouls. Kotaro walked over to them, and as they spotted him they ordered him to halt. "Who are you?" the head samurai said. "State your purpose at once!" Kotaro aimed his fist at the samurai and built up purple fire, and the samurai's eyes widened in horror.

"_Art of the Shinobi!_" Kotaro called out.

"Enough." The flames around his fists died down, and Kotaro looked over to a nearby rooftop to see Hanzo Hattori standing there. In either hand was a small scythe whose butts were connected by a long chain. "I told you I would be the one to fight you here," Hanzo reminded him.

"So you did," Kotaro confirmed. "Very well. You will be the first to die."

"Leave, samurai," Hanzo ordered. "Commit yourselves to other battles. You need not be caught in this."

The samurai immediately complied and ran off, leaving Hanzo and Kotaro to fight one-on-one. Kotaro aimed his fist up at Hanzo and fired another fireball, but Hanzo disappeared, reappearing right behind Kotaro just as the rooftop he had been standing on exploded. Hanzo swung his scythe at Kotaro, but Kotaro jumped over the slash, swinging his leg around and bringing it down on top of Hanzo. Hanzo crossed his scythes over his head to block the kick, and Kotaro's strength crumbled the ground under him. Kotaro landed on the ground and made a hand sign, and he built up purple flames into his fist.

He thrust his fist forward, but Hanzo leaped into the air over him, causing Kotaro to grunt in pain at the scythe he had stuck into his torso. Wielding the other scythe as he flew through the air, Hanzo grabbed it by the chain and swung it down at Kotaro, sending it slashing across his back and spattering blood across the ground. "Gah!" Kotaro fell to his fours as Hanzo landed on the ground, and he wrenched the chain back to tear the first scythe out of his body and send it flying back to him.

Hanzo then pulled on the chain again, bringing the second scythe back, and he held them both as he waited for Kotaro to make a move. Kotaro got back to his feet as he looked at Hanzo, and his grin had faded to be replaced by a much more serious expression. "You seek to prevent destruction," Kotaro said to him. "For that, you must die."

"I seek only to rid the world of those who would bring it unjust harm," Hanzo said to him. "That means that I will purge you of this land."

"You will meet your death in trying," Kotaro informed him. He built up flams into his hand and said, "_Art of the Shinobi: Chaotic Firestorm!_" He swung his arm around, and a wave of flames raged towards Hanzo from the right, who looked over to see them coming at him. The _Chaotic Firestorm_ washed over him, blasting up rubble as dark-purple fire rose into the air, and Kotaro took on a grin as he watched. Hanzo was in the air behind Kotaro, and he swung his scythe down at him, sending the tip at Kotaro's neck. Kotaro spun around and grabbed the scythe by the shaft, and he pulled it around and swung Hanzo with it, bringing him over and smashing him into a building.

Kotaro then aimed his fist and fired a purple fireball at him, blasting out the wall of the building and sending dark-purple fire rising into the air. Kotaro then dropped the chain and braced himself, and he said, "Now I know it takes more than that to defeat you. Show me what trick you used to escape my attack." The dust cloud cleared to reveal a log on the ground in Hanzo's place, and Kotaro took on a grin as he looked around. He then jumped to the right as a scythe landed in the ground where he had been, and Hanzo landed right on top of it as he swung the other scythe around, sending it at Kotaro's throat. Kotaro landed on the ground and ducked the slash, and Hanzo shot at him with a kunai raised.

Kotaro pulled out a knife of his own and used it to defend himself, but Hanzo threw the knife at him, distracting him while he leapt into the air, holding the center of the chain and sending both scythes flying into the air. Kotaro, who had knocked the knife out of the air with his, looked around at the scythes flying through the air, and Hanzo swung the chain around so that one of them came flying down at him. Kotaro barrel-rolled out of the way to let the scythe embed itself into the ground, and the instant he came back to his feet the second scythe was three inches away from his face.

Kotaro just barely managed to bring his head back, allowing the scythe to graze his jaw and spattering blood from the wound. The scythe came around while Hanzo brought the first one back, sending it flying down at Kotaro once again. Kotaro aimed his fist up, and he stepped to the side to allow the scythe to land in the ground. "_Art of the Shinobi: Flames of Destruction!_" He fired three fireballs up at Hanzo, but Hanzo swayed through the air, letting them all fly up into the sky while he came down to the ground. Hanzo landed, and Kotaro aimed his hand at him and said, "_Art of the Shinobi: Chaotic Firestorm!_"

Flames erupted off the ground around Hanzo, but he leaped out of them, his scythes in tow, and he swung the chain, sending one of them down at Kotaro. Kotaro swung his arm around, knocking the scythe aside by the shaft, and he waited for Hanzo to attack again. Hanzo came down and landed on the ground, and he held the chain so that he had control of both scythes, and Kotaro aimed his fist at him. "_Art of the Shinobi: Flames of Destruction!_" He fired three fireballs at Hanzo, and Hanzo shot straight at them. Hanzo jumped up over the fireballs, somersaulting through the air and swinging his scythes with him, and he came twenty feet over Kotaro and swung both scythes down at him.

Kotaro barrel-rolled to the side, letting the scythes embed themselves in the ground, and Hanzo came down and landed right next to them. He pulled both scythes off the ground and held them at the ready, and he immediately closed in and swung at Kotaro. Kotaro ducked back from the first slash, and he then swung his foot out and rammed it into Hanzo's gut, sending him flying back. Hanzo embedded the tip of his scythe in the ground and skidded to a halt, and Kotaro fired another fireball at him that he jumped to avoid. Flames blasted out from the impact point, and Hanzo brought his scythes up in the air with him, and then swung them down at Kotaro from either side.

Kotaro jumped into the air over them, letting the two blades clash and knock each other out of the air. Kotaro landed on the ground again and looked up at Hanzo, who came down and landed on the ground. "It's a bit funny," Kotaro said with a grin. "In all the times we've fought each other, I've never once seen any of your jutsu. Would you care to please show them to me? Just once I would like to see precisely how destructive you can be."

"Why do you think I've never shown you my jutsu?" Hanzo asked. "It's because I refuse to be a part of your game. I will not show you my jutsu. I don't need to."

"What are you saying?" Kotaro asked as his grin widened. "Are you saying that I'm not strong enough to get you to use your full power? Is that what it is?"

"That's exactly what it is," Hanzo confirmed. "You are not nearly strong enough to provide me with a challenge. I leave you alive because I pity you. The day I show you my true power will be the day that you are wiped from this world."

"Well then, allow me to show you just how incorrect you are about me," Kotaro said to him. At that moment the ground under him exploded violently, blasting up a pillar of flames into the sky and sending smoke billowing out over Azuchi. Hanzo watched as the flames rose up, and after about thirty seconds they started to die down, leaving a massive cloud of smoke in their wake. The smoke finally cleared, and Kotaro was on one knee, looking up at Hanzo with the utmost hate in his eyes. He had blood and burns all over him, and he was panting heavily in pain and exhaustion as he glared at Hanzo maliciously.

"What on earth…was that?" Kotaro asked.

"That was one of my weaker jutsu," Hanzo answered. "_Art of the Shinobi: Mine Blast Technique_."

"What?" Kotaro said incredulously. "Did you say that was one of your weaker jutsu?"

"Yes, one of my weakest, actually," Hanzo confirmed. "My strongest would destroy this entire land, but I need not demonstrate it to you here. Perhaps in a few decades you will be strong enough to get me to use my full power against you." Kotaro growled angrily as he rose to his feet, and he said, "We will battle again, Hanzo Hattori. And expect the results to be different." With this, he became engulfed in dark-purple fire, and he disappeared.

Hanzo watched the spot where he had disappeared for a moment before turning to look at the city. Flames still burned across the buildings, and combat still rang out between samurai and Shadow Ghoul. _My job here is complete,_ Hanzo thought to himself. _The rest is up to the people of this kingdom._ With that, he disappeared.

"_Rasengan!_" Naruto came down on top of Keiji with his jutsu raised, but Keiji jumped back, allowing him to smash it into the ground. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I breathed out an intense stream of flames at Keiji, who looked over his shoulder to see them coming at him, and he leaped up into the air to let them wash across the ground. He landed on a rooftop as he watched the flames flood the streets below, and the sound of running footsteps made him look around. Naruto, along with four _Shadow Clones_, came at Keiji, who held his arms out to all of them. I came down and kicked him in the back, knocking him forward while all of Naruto's clones closed in on him.

One of them punched him in the jaw, knocking him back while a second did the same from the opposite end, and the original Naruto jumped onto one of the clones' backs and leaped up into the air. The rest of the clones all came in from different directions, sliding across the ground towards him with their feet and fists raised. Two of the clones kicked him in the gut while the other two uppercut him, and with each hit, the clones shouted out, "_Na!_"

"_Ru!_"

"_To!_"

Keiji flew up into the air towards the original Naruto, who somersaulted down with his foot raised, and he slammed it into the top of Keiji's head, shouting, "_Uzumaki Barrage!_" The final blow sent Keiji flying down back onto the rooftop, and while Naruto's clones disappeared, I flew overhead and made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I fired off four human-sized balls of fire out of my mouth at Keiji, and they all collided into him, blasting off the rooftop sending smoke and flames down to the ground.

"_Art of Lightning: Pegasus Stride!_" Keiji flew out of the residual dust cloud with electricity emanating from his feet, supporting him as he flew through the air. I came in with the support of my _Flight Jutsu_, and Keiji veered around so that he flew at me, and he said, "_Art of Lightning: Lightning Hailstorm!_" Out of the electricity at his feet fired off a barrage of tiny bolts of electricity, and they all bombarded me as I crossed my arms to defend myself. Blood spattered out from several wounds the bolts cut into my body, and when the jutsu finally ceased, I lowered my arms to look out at Keiji. Keiji continued flying through the air with his _Pegasus Stride_, and he waited for me to attack.

"You wanna make this an air battle, huh?" I said as I devised a plan for attack. "Fine then, bring it on!" I shot straight at him as I made some hand signs, and Keiji flew out of the way while I blew out a _Fireball_, and he came around to a flank and fired off another _Lightning Hailstorm_ at me. I super-sped out of the way of the attack, coming to Keiji's flank as I fired a _Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ at him. Keiji ascended in order to evade my attack, and he aimed his arm down at me and fired off a _Gale Crash_. I backed out of the way of the jutsu and let it smash into the ground, raising up smoke and flames under me while I made some hand signs of my own.

"_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired off my jutsu at him, but Keiji raised his arms and brought all of the electricity under him up into a wall, which blocked the fire and left him unharmed. I then made three hand signs and formed a _Chidori_, and I shot straight at him while his defense dispersed. Keiji aimed both arms down at me and prepared to fire a _Dual Gale Crash_, but I came to the side and flew past him, leaving him to spin around to keep his eye on me.

"_Rasengan Dart!_" Three _Rasengans_ flew up and hit Keiji in the back, making his eyes widen as his jaw slackened, and as blood spurted out of his mouth, he dropped down and slammed into the ground. I hovered in place as I looked down at him, and Naruto and his clones stood on the ground on the opposite side, waiting to see what had become of Keiji. The dust cloud that he had risen upon impact cleared, and Keiji was on one knee as he panted in exhaustion. Blood was trickling down his chin as he looked between the two of us, and a grimace had etched its way across his face.

"You two," he said to us. "The two of you are pains in my ass. I didn't want to have to use this, but now it doesn't look like I have a choice. He then straightened up and held his arms out to either side, aiming at the two of us, and we both braced ourselves in preparation for what was coming. "_Art of Lightning: Gale Burst Destruction!_" he called out. Out of both palms came tremendous blasts of lightning that rent the very air apart as it came at us, and Naruto and I both looked on in shock as the attacks came at us.

Two magnificent explosions rose above the buildings of Azuchi, sending smoke and flames billowing out across the battlefield as rubble rained down. Keiji stood at the root of two smoke clouds, one on either side of him, and he looked around with a triumphant grin on his face. He then broke out into laughter, and he said, "Hah! I finally beat them! After all this I finally managed to kill them."

That was when a bright light shone through the smoke, causing Keiji's eyes to widen as he looked at it. The smoke cleared, and Naruto was standing there with two clones, all three of them with their arm out. They wielded a massive _Rasengan_, a ball of spiraling chakra that was eighteen inches in diameter, and circling were curved blades of chakra that spun rapidly in a line across the surface of the jutsu. I came through the smoke and saw Naruto's technique, and as my mouth and eyes widened I said, "What the hell is that?"

"_Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!_" Naruto called out. He shot straight at Keiji with his jutsu raised, and Keiji braced himself to dodge. "If you have to run up and hit me with it, then you're never going to make contact," he warned Naruto. He then grunted as his eyes widened, and a _Shadow Clone _grabbed him from behind, holding him in place while the real Naruto closed in. I watched in awe as Naruto brought the _Rasenshuriken_ in at Keiji, who was unable to get out of the way. Naruto rammed him with the technique, and the sheer force of impact caused the clone holding Kejiji to disappear.

After a moment of pressing the _Rasenshuriken_ into Keiji's gut, Keiji was blasted back, being driven by the jutsu as it left Naruto's grasp. After he reached a distance of about fifty feet, the _Rasenshuriken_ exploded into a massive ball of wind energy, rising thirty feet into the air and destroying the ground around it, with Keiji caught in the middle. The explosion reflected off of my eyes as I looked down at it, and it took almost a whole minute for the blast to finally subside. Pillars of smoke rose up from a gigantic crater in the ground, and in the center lay Keiji, his body having been mutilated by the technique. His eyes were open, cold and lifeless as he stared out, and Naruto and I wasted no time running off to the next battle.

[Kakashi's point-of-view] Blood dripped to the ground from a wound in my torso, and I backed off as Tadakatsu came closer, swinging his spear around in his hand. "You've fought well," he said to me. "But it is time that this battle came to an end." "I agree," I said to him. "And that's why I'm ending it right here and now." I then made some hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Geyser Jutsu!_" Several jets of water sprang up out of the ground around Tadakatsu, who looked around at them nonchalantly.

"Are you intending to give me a bath?" he asked with a grin.

"In a matter of speaking," I answered as I made some more hand signs. "_Water Style: Great Flood Jutsu!_" The water coming out of all of the geysers increased tenfold, quickly flooding the entire area and turning the streets of Azuchi into a small lake. Tadakatsu raised his spear in preparation for what was to come, and I then made a final sequence of hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Dragon Field!_" All of the water around us rose up into the air, collecting into half a dozen streams that took the shape of dragons' heads as they all came down on top of Tadakatsu.

"What is this?" he said in shock as he held his spear out.

"This is your death," Kakashi answered. Tadakatsu leaped out of the way as the first two _Water Dragons_ collided into the ground, and he slashed through the next three with his spear, causing them all to disperse into shapeless water. But the last two both caught him by surprise, hitting him head-on and driving him down, slamming him into the ground. I made some hand signs and bent down, placing my hands on the ground in front of me, and I said, "_Water Style: Water Fortress Prison Jutsu!_" All of the water around Tadakatsu rose up and collected around him, forming a gigantic dome that spanned a hundred feet in diameter and left him unable to breathe.

I then rose up, looked in at the dome to see Tadakatsu struggling to escape, and I said, "You won't be able to get out through sheer strength alone." I then made one last sequence of hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Implosion!_" All of the water crushed Tadakatsu completely, leaving him as a red stain in the water that came crashing back to the ground. "Good," I said to myself. "Now that that's over, we can finally move on to the last battle." I looked over towards the center of Azuchi, and I then leaped off.

[_Third-person point-of-view_] Nobunaga stood on the ground, panting heavily with his sword at his side, facing Akuma as he stood thirty feet away. Akuma looked at Nobunaga with his arms folded, and he had several Shadow Ghouls around them staring down the Azuchi king as well. Sakon, Mitsunari, and Magoichi were all sprawled across the rubble around them, all of them beaten and unconscious.

"You disappoint me, Nobunaga," Akuma said to him. "I predicted you to be stronger than this."

"I am not defeated yet," Nobunaga declared as he raised his sword. Akuma made no attempt to fight or defend as Nobunaga held his sword out, and he said, "_Art of Wind: Decapitating Slash!_" He swung his sword outward, and a massive gust of wind discharged off the blade, flying at Akuma and crashing into him, blasting up dust and rubble off the ground. When the dust cleared, Akuma was standing in the exact same spot, completely unharmed.

"How is this possible?" Nobunaga asked angrily.

"It is possible because I am a god," Akuma answered as he walked towards Nobunaga. "I am the embodiment of death in this land, and I will rule over all life. My forces will take down this kingdom, and you will be the first to fall to my strength." Nobunaga held his sword out to him, but Akuma continued coming nonetheless, not the least bit concerned about the sword tip aimed at his throat. Akuma closed the gap between himself and Nobunaga and he grabbed Nobunaga's sword blade and pulled it out of the way, leaving nothing between himself and Azuchi's king.

"Prepare to die, you relic," Akuma said as he held his hand out. His eyes then widened, and he turned around, looking between two spots. Naruto and Matt both stood there, glaring at Akuma with determination in their eyes, and Akuma turned around fully to face them.

[_Matt's point-of-view_] Kakashi snuck in while Akuma was distracted, grabbing Nobunaga and escaping. "Is this all that Azuchi has left?" he asked. "Two children?"

"Don't underestimate us," Matt warned him.

"After all, we did beat your lackey," Naruto added.

"Keiji Maeda is worthless trash compared to me. He was strong, granted, but it will take much more than the two of you can bring to bear to cause me to meet the same fate."

"Let's test that theory," I said to him.

"Very well," Akuma confirmed. He held out his arm, and a large sword appeared in his hand. The blade itself was dark-purple, almost black, and it was intricately designed, with a semicircle cut out of the edge towards the hilt, and towards the end it widened and then curved back to form the tip. "This will be the final battle for the fate of Azuchi," Akuma declared.

"Yeah, and you already lost," Naruto said to him. Akuma's eyes widened as thirty _Shadow Clones_ of Naruto came down on top of him, and they all had _Rasengans_ going between them. "_Rasengan Dart!_" they all called out. The clones all threw their jutsu down at Akuma, who swung his sword up through the air, discharging a trail of purple energy that blocked all of the jutsu, leaving him unharmed.

As the energy hung in the air, Akuma said, "_Art of Death: Afterlife Siege!_" The energy sprung dozens of tentacles that all shot up at the clones, dispersing them all and leaving a massive cloud of smoke in the air as Akuma held his hand up to the tentacles. He then brought his arm down to point it at us, and all of the tentacles then shot down and came straight at us. Naruto and I braced ourselves, and we both jumped out of the way, prompting the tentacles to split into two groups that pursued us through the air. Naruto and I both leaped across rooftops to evade the assault, and the tentacles all smashed through the city in an effort to perforate us.

The fact that they kept coming after hitting a building made them much more difficult to evade as we kept leaping in all directions. Akuma took on a grin as he watched us struggle, and his eyes then widened as Kakashi came in, flipping through the air with a _Lightning Blade_, severing all of the tentacles at their root and causing them all to disappear. Kakashi landed on the ground, and he stepped in and thrust his _Lightning Blade_ at Akuma, who held his sword out.

He built up purple energy into the blade, and he said, "_Art of Death: Guillotine Blade!_" The energy across the blade extended five feet past the tip, and Akuma swung his sword around, severing Kakashi's body completely in half. As Kakashi hung in the air with wide eyes, his features then started to glow, until altogether he was completely white, and his body exploded into electricity that caught Akuma, violently electrocuting him and knocking him back. The real Kakashi watched from the shadows of a nearby building, looking over at Akuma as he panted in exhaustion.

_That _Lightning Shadow Clone Jutsu_ is a killer, _Kakashi thought to himself. _With all of the chakra that I've used up to this point, I'm pretty much at my limit. That was the best that I can do. Matt, Naruto, the rest is up to you._

I flew through the air over Akuma, and I made some hand signs and fired a _Fireball Jutsu _down at him. Akuma's eyes opened as the jutsu came down, and he gritted his teeth and said, "That won't work on me." He got back to his feet and stretched his arms out, over his head and to his sides, and he said, "_Art of Death: Assimilate to Kill!_" His body emanated purple energy, which formed a wall in front of him to intercept the fireball. My jutsu hit the wall and disappeared completely, leaving no trace of it as Akuma was left unharmed. Akuma then brought his arms back down, causing the wall to disperse as he stretched his arms all the way out in front of him, his palms three inches apart and facing each other. Purple energy built up into his arms, sending massive pulsations through the air.

"_Now die!_" Akuma commanded. He fired off a massive beam of purple energy from his hands, and the beam shot up at me while I flew through the air.

"Oh, jeez!" I said as I flew out of the way. The beam flew past me, but then veered around and came at me again, leaving me with no time to dodge as it crashed into me, exploding violently while it drove me back through the air, bringing me down and smashing me into a building.

"Leave him alone!" Naruto ran forward as he reached into his weapons holsters, and he swung his arms through the air and fired off several shuriken at Akuma. Akuma blocked them all with his sword, and he spawned energy off his blade that extended five feet past his tip, which he swung straight down at Naruto. Naruto leaped into the air to evade the strike, coming over and behind Akuma as he reached into his pocket. Naruto unraveled a scroll and pressed his palm into a circle depicted in it, and a puff of smoke brought forth a large shuriken with blades two feet long.

Naruto threw the shuriken down at Akuma, but Akuma aimed the tip of his sword up at it, his opposite hand grasping his bicep. "_Art of Death: Purging Stream!_" A torrent of purple energy fired off from the blade, blasting the shuriken to pieces as it flew up at Naruto. The torrent hit him head-on and perforated his body, but Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Akuma's eyes to widen in shock. "_Giant Rasengan!_" Naruto and a _Shadow Clone_ rammed the jutsu into Akuma's back, tearing his armor apart and blasting him through the air, sending him crashing into a building that then collapsed on top of him.

"Hah! How do you like that?" Naruto said triumphantly. "_Art of Death: Hell's Halo!_" A ball of energy shot into the air out of the dust, shooting up into the sky over Naruto and expanding into a ring centered on him. Naruto looked up at the ring with confusion, wondering what was about to happen. The dust around Akuma cleared to reveal him holding his sword up to the halo, and he said, "This is your death ceremony!" He swung his sword down, causing the halo to compact into an intense beam that fired down at Naruto, crashing into him and blasting up smoke and rubble around him.

Akuma then walked forward towards the smoke, and when it cleared there was a large crater in the ground. Naruto lay amongst it, face-down with his head in the dirt. Akuma aimed the tip of his sword down at him, and as the blade became surrounded in purple energy, Naruto looked up. "See the blade that will end your existence," Akuma commanded. Naruto grunted in pain, and he was in no state to move, fight, or defend himself. Akuma's eyes narrowed as he prepared for the final blow, but at that moment a blast of red energy hit him in the back.

I walked forward, firing three more blasts at Akuma from my SNIS pistol—the one I had had with me right before we came here. The blasts hit Akuma in his back, which was bare of armor, and the pain put him down on his knees, growling in pain as blood trickled down from his wounds. As soon as I confirmed that he was down, I ran forward and swung my foot into him, knocking him out of the way as I bent down at Naruto. I hoisted him onto my shoulder as I pulled him up, and he grinned at me and thanked me.

"What…what is that thing?" I looked over to see Akuma eyeing my weapon with the utmost astonishment, and it then struck me that this must have looked very, very unusual to him.

"It's a gun," I said to him. "I'm pretty sure you have them in this time too, but none of them are as cool as this one." I then straightened up, letting Naruto get back to his feet as we looked at Akuma. Akuma looked absolutely furious as he glared at us, and he then rose to a squad as he picked his sword up off the ground.

"I refuse to be beaten by the likes of you. I will never lose to vermin who aren't even from this time period, especially not ones who wield such ridiculous toys!" He built up purple energy into his blade, and Naruto and I both braced for what was coming. I aimed my pistol right at his face and pulled the trigger, but the weapon clicked and didn't fire.

"Dammit," I said as I looked at the gun. I hadn't brought any extra ammo with me, but it didn't look like it mattered. All of the power building up into Akuma's sword came to a peak, and he said, "Your end is now! _Art of Death: Life Perish Blast!_" He swung his sword and let off an enormous blast of energy that destroyed everything within a hundred feet, catching the two of us in an enormous explosion that rose into the air.

"Naruto! Matt!" Kakashi called out as he watched in horror. Smoke and flames rose up infinitely into the air, and buildings burned in a massive blaze that encompassed a large portion of the city. Smoke engulfed the battlefield, concealing the two of us from view as Akuma looked on. He took on a grin, and he let his sword fall to his side as he turned around. An unidentifiable noise caught his attention, and his eyes widened as a bright light shone through the smoke behind him.

Naruto and I stood there, holding our hands out together and wielding our ultimate jutsu. _Chidori_ combined with _Rasengan_ to create an almighty technique that had chakra in the center, surrounded by lighting with circuits of electricity being thrown in every direction.

"What was that you said?" Naruto asked.

"Something about our end being now?" I chimed in.

Kakashi landed on a rooftop and ran over, and as he looked down and witnessed what we had accomplished, his face fell to relief and he said, "You two."

Nobunaga, Sakon, Mitsunari and Magoichi all stood on rooftops overlooking the scene, and they all had grins on their faces as they looked at our jutsu. "Well I'll be damned," Magoichi said.

Naruto and I braced ourselves, and we both ran forward, wielding our jutsu as we closed in on Akuma. Akuma, who was too shocked to put up a decent counterattack, held his sword out and built up energy into the blade. "I'll stop you!" he said. "If it's the last thing I do, I will bring you to your grave!" He held his sword out to us as we closed the gap between us, and as we thrust our jutsu at him, Naruto and I both called out, "_One Thousand Birds Spiraling Sphere!_"

We rammed the technique into Akuma, whose sword was far too meager to fend us off on his own, and Naruto and I stepped in to make one final press, and in that moment the jutsu exploded with tremendous force, blasting off Akuma's armor and slowly tearing his body apart. Naruto and I kept our power flowing, and as Akuma hung suspended in the air, all of the chakra and electricity obliterated his body completely, causing a massive torrent of white energy to rise into the sky. The energy disappeared, leaving Naruto and I to stand tall amongst the destroyed Azuchi, and Kakashi, Nobunaga and his generals all came down to greet us.

All of them were awestruck at our ability to defeat Akuma, and Nobunaga made it a point to thank us on behalf of all of his people for defending his kingdom.

"Look, I know you guys gotta get going back to your world," Magoichi said, "but feel free to stick around as long as you like."

"That's very generous, thank you," Kakashi said to him. "But we need to find our way back home. I'm sure our people are worried."

"Do you have any idea how to get there?" Mitsunari asked.

"Admittedly, no," Kakashi answered.

"Well then, I suppose it's time to make good on our promise," Nobunaga said. The three of us looked at him, and he said, "I told you that I would put my full attention into helping you three returning to whence you came, and now that Akuma is gone, I can do just that."

As soon as he said that, Kakashi's, Naruto's, and my body all became engulfed in white light. Nobunaga and his generals all gasped at what they saw, and I immediately recognized this to be the same light that the rock pillar had engulfed us in upon seeing us here. "Maybe you won't need to help us after all," Kakashi said as he looked down at himself.

"If that's the case, then goodbye," Nobunaga said. "Know that we are always in your debt."

Right at that moment a Shadow Ghoul beast lunged down, making us all gasp as it collided into Kakashi. The Ghoul became engulfed in light upon impact, stopping it cold and keeping Kakashi from being mauled. We all disappeared, leaving Nobunaga and his generals to wonder what had just happened, and once again it felt like I was rushing through space.

In the cave that the rock pillar stood in, Teams Kurenai, Asuma, and Guy, along with Sakura, Sai, and Tsunade, were all gathered around the cave, searching for a way to bring us back. "I just don't understand what could have happened to them," Tsunade said bitterly. That was when the pillar glowed with white light, causing everyone's eyes to widen. Three beams of energy shot out of the rock and crashed into the ground, spawning Kakashi, Naruto and I respectively, and we were all on our knees from nausea.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. She ran over and bent down to him, and all of the other Leaf ninja ran over and gathered around us, trying to see if we were alright.

The pillar continued glowing, and out shot a fourth beam of light. The beam crashed into the ground, and out bounded the Shadow Ghoul that had traveled with us, which wasted no time in attacking the Leaf shinobi.

"What the hell is this thing?" Kiba said as he jumped back through the air.

"Aim for its head!" I said as I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I breathed out, but nothing happened. I waited, and realized that I didn't feel any power, any chakra within me whatsoever. My eyes widened in shock, and as the beast charged at me, I was too paralyzed to move.

Kakashi and Naruto both watched in horror as the beast closed in, and the beast rammed into me with all its strength, sending me flying back and slamming into the wall of the cave.

"Matt!" Naruto shouted. Kakashi came down and swung a _Lightning Blade_, beheading the Shadow Ghoul and causing it to disappear.

"Kakashi, what on earth is going on?" Tsunade said. "What was that thing? Where were you three?" Tsunade's words didn't even register as I lay on the ground on my fours, my eyes wide with horror as I looked at the ground under me. I couldn't believe it. After everything, after three whole days of fighting and defeating one of the most powerful entities in history, I was powerless again. Was this some kind of sick joke?

"It's a long story," Kakashi said to her. "Let's get back to the village, and I'll explain everything there."

Back at the village, Kakashi and Naruto had just finished explaining everything to Tsunade. "So, he's powerless again, huh?" she said as she looked wistfully through a hospital window at me. "What was that pillar? What were its powers?" she asked.

"We may never know exactly what it is or where it came from," Kakashi answered. "But it's time to leave the past in the past and move forward."

I sat on a bed with my legs curled up to my body, and I looked at the opposite wall. _It doesn't matter,_ I said to myself. _This was just a bump in the road. I'll get my powers back, and I'll get them back for good. It's only a matter of time._


	135. Chapter 132: Overload

OVERLOAD

An explosion blasted out a piece of the cave wall, sending birds in trees flying away. Circuits of electricity hung in the air as I stood in the midst of a cloud of dust, hands held halfway out to her sides. Blake was hiding behind a rock with his assault rifle held out, and he was peering out at me as I stood in front of him. The dust started to clear, and several dozen Decepticlones stood in the cave, blasters aimed at me.

"I'll take their flank," Blake said to me.

"Fine," I responded. I heard him run off, and I built up electricity into my hands. I threw my arms forward and let out a massive surge that tore across twenty units, destroying them all and causing several more to dive out of the way. Three medium units fired their blasters at me, but I threw up a wall of electricity to defend myself, and afterwards sent the wall flying at them. All three were destroyed, but the more of them were aiming their weapons at me and preparing to fire. I caught sight of a light unit's head being blown off towards the back, and several Decepticlones turned in another direction and started firing.

I immediately fired two circuits of electricity at the Decepticlones, and while a few of them were destroyed, I was forced to dive out of the way of an onslaught of blasts that had been fired at me. As soon as I hit the ground I got to my feet and ran behind the boulder concealing Blake, who peered out and fired his assault rifle. Before he could commit any serious damage he was forced back behind the rock, and he said to me, "We may have bitten off a bit more than we can chew here."

"I was thinking that when I first got here," I admitted to him as I panted. I came out from behind the rock and strafed the Decepticlones, firing a barrage of electrical circuits that took out several of them before they could focus their fire. I threw up a wall of electricity to block all of their attacks, and as I focused on the wall I concentrated all of my power, sending electricity flowing out from my body. I let out an enormous roar as the wall exploded into a magnificent wave, washing over the Decepticlones and destroying thirty of them while the others were left in disarray.

A rocket flew out from somewhere to my right that took out a medium unit, and several of the Decepticlones that saw the strike focused their fire in that direction. I concentrated electricity into my hands and bent down, but before I could do anything, several heavy units in the background fired pairs of missiles at me. I barrel-rolled out of the way, allowing each of the missiles to punch out burning craters into the ground, and I got back to my feet and ran back behind the rock I had been using for cover. I heard several explosions break in the midst of the Decepticlone forces, and I peeked out from behind the rock to see what was going on.

Several clouds of smoke were billowing up behind the frontline of Decepticlones, and I threw one arm out and fired several circuits of electricity that knocked down four light units. A pocket of medium units started firing at me again, but I went back behind the rock and kept cover while I flanked the Decepticlones, coming towards their right. On the way there Blake met me with his assault rifle raised and ready, and I said to him, "I can't do a thing out there!"

"I've been trying to pick them off little-by-little, but they hit me before I can do any real damage." As he said this I noticed that he was stemming blood flow from a gunshot wound in his abdomen. I looked at him with wide eyes, and he said, "It's nothing. We need to start hitting these things before we both get killed."

As soon as he said this, a blast fired out past him from behind, making us both look around, and several light units had made their way around our cover and were aiming their blasters at us. The stomping of several pairs of feet made me look behind me, and I saw several more Decepticlones ready to fire their blasters. I threw both arms forward and fired a current of electricity at the second pack, and the electricity knocked most of them back and sent the rest into disarray. Blake grabbed me and shoved me to the ground just as a hailstorm of blaster bullets shot through the air, and I rolled over on the ground and fired a circuit of electricity, but the Decepticlones dodged it and aimed their blasters down at me.

I quickly got back to my feet and ran out of the way, and Blake followed me as we retreated back towards the edge of the cave, with a hailstorm of blaster fire pursuing us. I put my palms six inches apart and sparked electricity between them, and I then threw my arms outward, letting out a wall of electricity that closed off the cave passage. The blaster fire hit the electric wall, which held firm under the pressure as we retreated, and after we were fifty feet away, I came to a stop and turned around to face the Decepticlones, with electricity building up into my fists. The Decepticlones had gathered right behind the wall and were focusing their fire on it, and the wall was slowly degrading.

I continued to build up the electricity into my fists to the point where all of the pressure caused the cave to tremble. Blake was hiding behind an extension of the cave wall as he looked out to see what was happening, and as the Decepticlones continued their fire, the wall started destabilizing. I raised my electrified fists as the wall became more and more unstable, and after a moment holes started forming it the electricity. Some of the Decepticlones saw these holes, and they retrained their fire through them to get at me.

I had to sidestep out of the way of one of the blasts while the rest flew past me, but I continued to wait while most of the Decepticlones continued firing at the shield. After another minute the shield broke down completely and let out a burst of electricity, blasting a small cloud of dust into the air. The instant this happened I threw my arms forward and let out all of my power, unleashing a wide beam of pure electricity at the group of Decepticlones. The beam flew over and crashed into them, causing enormous explosion that decimated their forces, leaving them all in pieces while the entire cave was shaken by the blast.

The cave continued to shake, and Blake and I looked around as pieces of rubble started falling down. "Are you sure that was a good idea?" Blake asked me.

"It seemed like it at the time," I admitted to him. Cracks started running up the wall from the ground to the ceiling, and we watched as pieces of the ceiling started to break loose.

[Chris's point-of-view] The echo of the explosion passed through the cave as I looked down the corridor in the direction it came from. _Did they think before they made that move?_ I thought to myself. Without giving it another thought I turned around and started running down the passageway. Nearly all of the Decepticlones in the cave were now focused on Schroeder and Smith, but there were still a few squads that had stayed behind to continue guarding the Rebirth Crystal. I encountered one of these squads on my search for the Crystal, and found that it consisted of four light units and two medium units headed by a serge. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small, black, mechanical ball, and I threw it straight into the middle of the squad.

The Decepticlones managed to fire off two blasts before an intense explosion blasted them all to pieces, and I immediately ran through the flames of the explosion and continued my search for the Crystal. On my several reconnaissance missions beforehand I had made virtual scans of most parts of the cave, and I knew that the cave operated like a large labyrinth under the earth. I also knew that all paths in the cave led to one common spot that I had not been able to make it to without being discovered by Decepticlones.

That was the direction I was now heading. This section was in the back of the cave, well behind all Decepticlone forces situated throughout the hideout. I was now fifty feet out from this spot in the cave, and as I continued running a barrage of blasts flew out at me from the darkness ahead. I came to a dead halt and held my arm out in front of me, igniting a light-blue shield that intercepted the blasts, and I then pulled a pistol out of my belt and aimed it forward. I pulled the trigger, firing a large blue blast that then separated into a dozen tiny blasts that shot through the air like little flies.

Sounds of impact echoed through the air, and I then threw a gray, metal stick in the same direction that then ignited into bright, yellow light that illuminated the passage. Four medium units were on the ground and not moving, while three more were heavily damaged. I pulled out a knife handle and activated the red, electric blade, and I charged the Decepticlones and hacked away at their limbs, causing them all to fall to the ground while I ran into an open room in the cave. The room was a hundred feet from wall to wall and sixty feet high, with a shrine made of stone at the back.

The shrine was a simple stone column that rose out of the ground, and sitting on top of the shrine was a long, skinny, white, shining crystal. The crystal looked like cut diamond, and it was twelve inches long and an inch and a half wide. As the light from the crystal illuminated the room, I took a tentative step forward, only to duck down out of the way of a missile that flew right over my head. The missile hit the ground twenty feet to my right, and I looked to my left where it came from to see three heavy units stomping towards me. I took my Electric Knife back out of my pocket and moved back towards the corridor I had just come from while the heavy units fired blasters and missiles down at me.

I cleared the corridor exit just as a barrage of missiles blasted a crater into the ground, and I kneeled against the cave wall as I panted, looking back towards the room. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a small, metal disk with a dark-blue orb in the center, and I tossed it out into the room. The disk slid across the ground before coming to a stop, and the orb scanned the entire room, relaying the feed to a screen on my left arm. As I looked into the monitor at the three heavy units, four hollow, yellow squares appeared around their heads as they stomped towards my corridor.

I aimed my arm out into the room, and the heads of three tiny missiles popped out on the sides and bottom of my suit. The missiles fired out, banking left as soon as they made it to the room, and they all hit the heavy units in the head, blowing them clean off and causing their bodies to collapse to the ground. I immediately got back to my feet and walked casually out into the room, my eyes on the Crystal in its shrine.

[Nichi's point-of-view] Blake and I ran through a cave corridor as the ceiling caved in on itself, and I sent blasts of electricity from my hands that destroyed boulders before they could hit us. We eventually came towards a dead-end, and I built up electricity into my hands. I let out a burst of it at the wall in front of us, blasting it out completely and leaving a gaping hole with sunlight shining through. We both ran as quickly as we could towards the exit, with the cave crashing down around our heads, and I dove out with Blake right behind me, and we plummeted down a thirty-foot drop to the ground.

I grabbed a tree branch on my way down to catch myself, and I climbed up onto it while Blake flew over with jet boots and offered me a hand. I took it, and we both descended to the ground safely. I had blood running down my face, while Blake had blaster fire wounds in his torso. "Sorry about that," I said to him as I panted.

"It got rid of the Decepticlones," he said as he looked over at the cave.

"Do you think Chris got out alright?" I asked.

"I got out just fine." Blake and I looked around to see Chris walking towards us, and my eyes widened as I saw the bright crystal in his hand. He held it up to show us, and the glow from the Rebirth Crystal shone in my eyes.

"Alright," Chris said to us. "Another IS has located the second Crystal. He's waiting for us in South Dakota. It's time for round two."


	136. Chapter 133: In Field of Combat

IN FIELD OF COMBAT

Blake, Chris and I walked towards the forest surrounding the cave. Blake pressed a button on his belt, and his ship materialized out of its cloaking field right inside the forest line. Chris raised a communicator to his ear and said, "Logan, what's your status?"

Blake and I tuned into their frequency, and we heard a husky male voice say, "I've got eyes on the Crystal, but it's surrounded by a couple hundred Decepticlones. I've got no way of getting to it without help."

"Alright," Chris replied. "We've got one of the Crystals, and we're heading your way now."

"Is Withau with you?" Logan asked.

"No," Chris answered. "I'm bringing Schroeder and her pilot."

"Copy," Logan responded. Logan exited communication, and Blake opened the cockpit of his ship. Chris and I climbed into the back while Blake took the pilot's seat. He started the engine, we ascended a foot off the ground, and then shot up over the cave and into the sky. We flew over the forests of Nebraska, flew over cities like street blocks, and within fifteen minutes we were descending over South Dakota. We came into the Badlands, and Blake activated the cloaking field just before we hit the rocky ground behind a range of tiny mountains.

The cockpit opened up, and the three of us departed the aircraft while someone walked up to us from the outside. I looked over at him and saw that Intelligence Specialist Logan Hansen was a man of twenty-two with pale skin and black hair that had bangs slicked back over his head. He wore a black fabric jacket over dark-gray shirt, with dark-blue jeans that had several holes in them. "Logan," Chris greeted, and the two shook hands. Logan nodded to him, and then trained his eyes on me.

"You're Special Agent Nichi Schroeder?" he asked.

"Yes," I said as we shook hands.

"Where's the Crystal?" Blake asked.

"On the other side of these mountains," Logan answered, indicating the tiny range that we had landed behind.

"What are we facing?" Chris asked.

"Out past those mountains, the Decepticlone resistance is spread across about half a mile. The Crystal is in a tree at the very center of them. The situation the way it is, there's no point in either Chris or myself trying to sneak over and take the Crystal. We're going to have to take these things head-on."

"Fine," Chris said as he pulled a pistol off his belt. "I'll take the right flank. Logan, take the left. Schroeder, can you snipe?"

"Uhh, no," I admitted. "Alright, then you'll be on the frontline. You'll blow a hole in the Decepticlone forces, with Blake coming in behind you and taking out anything left over. Logan and I will come in from the sides and distract some of their forces while Schroeder combats the brunt."

Before he could continue, the sound of several tiny jet engines sounded above us, and we all looked up to see three robots with wings slanted upward, and a single, large thruster out of their backsides keeping them in the air. They had large, long, scoped rifles in their hands that they were aiming down at us.

"What are those?" I asked as we stared at them.

"Jet lasers," Logan answered. "They've been thorns in my side from day one."

All of the jet lasers fired purple blasts from their rifles down at us, but I quickly threw up a wall of electricity over us to block them, and the wall then blasted outward, sending circuits up at the snipers. One of them was destroyed while the other two hastily flew out of the way, and one of them somersaulted through the air as it fired its rifle down at us, and the four of us dove out of the way as the blasts hit the ground around us. Logan got to one knee and fired a missile from a wrist launcher, and the missile flew through the air, homing in on the jet laser, who attempted to evade it.

The missile closed in on the Decepticlone and hit it right in the side as the sniper was strafing, blowing out a chunk of its body and causing its thruster to explode. The jet laser's body became enveloped in flames, and it plummeted down and crashed into the ground, while the final sniper came in from our flank and fired its rifle down at us. Blake spun around and raised his arm, activating a shield generator that blocked one of the blasts while I intercepted another one with a current of electricity between my hands.

The sniper closed in on us, continuously firing its rifle, but Chris aimed his pistol and fired a single, lime-green blast that flew through the air like a sniper bullet. The blast hit the Decepticlone in the head, blowing it off completely and sending the robot crashing to the ground. "Alright," Logan said to the three of us. "We all know our assignments. Schroeder, wait for Chris and I to clear the mountains before you go out. As soon as you start your assault we'll move in."

"Okay," I replied.

The two Intelligence Specialists moved out to either side of the mountain range, and I came over to a spot that had a small crevasse in the mountains ten feet off the ground. I climbed up the rock faces with Blake right behind me, and I squeezed through the rocks, remaining in the crevasse so I could remain hidden and get a decent view of the resistance. Logan had been accurate in his description of the Decepticlone forces. There were about three hundred troops spread out across a wide area.

Most of them were ground troops, but there were around forty jet lasers flying around the area, running reconnaissance around the area to search for enemies. There were several dozen trees situated in between the Decepticlones, and it was impossible for me to tell which one the Rebirth Crystal was in. I waited a few moments for Logan and Chris to get into position, and I looked behind me to see Blake with his assault rifle out and ready to fire. I stuck my arm out towards the Decepticlones and charged up electricity into my palm. I sparked electricity around my other hand as well while the concentration in my first turned into a ball of pure electricity sitting in the palm of my hand.

After a moment I swung my opposite arm over my head and brought it down against my palm, unleashing a massive pulse of electricity that burst outward and destroyed the nearest dozen Decepticlones. As if I had let up a signal flare into the sky, every single Decepticlone in the area looked over at me, and aimed their blasters right at the crevasse where I was hiding. Half of the Decepticlones fired their weapons at me while the other half came closer to get better aim, and as they did so a barrage of missiles came in from both flanks, coming down and blasting apart several dozen more Decepticlones.

I looked down at my palms for a split second before I charged up electricity into them. I looked behind me at Blake and told him to stand back, and as he backed off a couple of steps I threw my arms downward and behind me, firing off a burst of electricity that hit the ground and sent me flying through the air. Decepticlones fired up at me, but my momentum kept me from behind hit as I charged up electricity into my hands, and as I descended down to the ground I put my hands out, and just before I landed I let out a massive burst of electricity.

The electricity exploded outward, blowing away forty Decepticlones within twenty feet of me while others trained their blasters on me. I threw up a dome of electricity that surrounded the air fifteen feet around me, and the electricity blocked multitudes of blasts that came in from all directions. I crossed my arms in front of me, and after a second I threw them outward, causing the dome to explode into several dozen tendrils of electricity that tore through the Decepticlone forces.

Decepticlones were torn to pieces, and the few within fifty feet of me that weren't hit by the tendrils were thrown into disarray. An enormous explosion occurred off at the edge of the Decepticlone forces, sending flames rising fifty feet into the air. A broad line of explosions broke coming out from the original, destroying more and more Decepticlones as the assault moved forward. Blake came in behind me firing his assault rifle, knocking down Decepticlones before they could have a chance to mount a counterstrike. I sent currents of electricity through the air at Decepticlones aiming their blasters at me, and I threw up walls of electricity from my palms before their blasts could make contact.

I steadily moved towards the center of the Decepticlone forces, fighting off their strikes without taking a single hit. A bird's eye camera homed in on the battlefield, and it split into two sections that focused on Blake and I. The fleet of three assault craft flew through the air over the battlefield, and they each fired two missiles down at us. I watched the missiles come with wide eyes, and I then turned around and ran in the opposite direction as the assault craft flew overhead. Time seemed to slow down as the missiles collided into the ground, letting out an explosion of flames that blasted craters into the earth, and I put my arms over my head just as the tidal wave of fire washed over me.

A second round of missiles hit the ground around Blake, concealing him from view as well, but he came out of the top of the fire with a shield around him, and he came up and landed on the mountains thirty feet off the ground. He held his arm out and fired a missile at one of the assault craft, and as the ship veered around its shield blocked the missile. The fleet came in for another strike and fired a volley of laser blasts down at Blake, who hid behind a boulder on the mountains, bracing himself for the blaster fire that tore the mountain face apart around him.

The assault craft flew overhead, leaving Blake to watch after them, and he got to his feet and ran back behind the mountains to keep out of sight of the assault craft. I emerged from the cloud of fire with electricity around my body, and there was blood running down my face while my clothes were torn.

Through the communicator in my ear I heard Chris shout, "Logan! Get your EMP missiles ready!"

"Roger!" Logan responded. I looked over and saw a missile fly up into the air from the ground, and it came after the assault craft that flew through the air overhead. I watched as the missile pursued the assault craft, and a moment later a second missile met the first one, and the two of them joined forces in chasing the ships. The missiles closed in on the assault craft, and when they came within five feet of the forward thrusters, the missiles came in and collided into each other, letting out an electromagnetic pulse that disabled the assault crafts' shields.

Chris fired his sniper pistol at a medium unit, blowing a clean hole through its chest, and as he walked into the thick of the Decepticlone forces, he pulled out a gray, closed, metal tube. He pressed a button on the side of it and threw the tube into the air, where it broke apart to make way for dozens of tiny missiles that flew through the air after the three assault craft. The assault craft attempted to bank out of the way of the missiles, but the heat-seekers quickly closed in on them and tore all three of the craft to pieces, sending what was left flying down and crashing into the ground.

As I watched this occur, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I looked directly in front of me to see a bright, white light coming from towards the top of one of the trees. Chris fired his sniper pistol repeatedly at Decepticlones around him, and he then aimed his wrist-mounted missile launcher up into the air and fired three missiles, which came down and crashed into packs of Decepticlones. Logan walked forward and fired a machine gun from his wrist, tearing apart Decepticlone units while he threw grenades into larger pockets, blowing them apart and leaving little to counter them.

Blake remained on the mountain as he fired his assault rifle, taking out multiple Decepticlones in quick succession. I ran across the battlefield, firing a circuit of electricity at a light unit along the way, and I ran past its broken body and fired electricity at the ground under me, springing me up into the air and into a tree. I grabbed hold of a branch and climbed up onto it, Decepticlones all around me firing up at me, but I intercepted blasts that were about to hit me with currents of electricity.

I climbed up the tree towards the white crystal lodged in between branches, and as I came within reach I stretched my arm out. Two hands grabbed opposite ends of the Crystal, and I looked up with wide eyes as Matt looked back down at me, an expression of mild shock on his face.


	137. Chapter 134: Found

FOUND

Explosions broke on the ground around us as the Decepticlones fought off Blake, Chris, and Logan. "Matt," I said to him in shock. He was wearing a black, fabric vest over dark-gray t-shirt with dark-blue jeans. He had a sword at the back of his waist, which had a black handle and sheath. His eyes narrowed as he looked at me, and I said again, "Matt." I looked between his eyes, trying to read what he was thinking, but it seemed as though there was a wall blocking his thoughts. "Matt, what's going on?" I said to him. "Where have you been?" But Matt didn't respond.

His eyes narrowed, and he swung his leg around, putting his foot into my gut and sending me flying down, smashing into the ground and raising dust into the air around me. The dust cleared, and as I lay on the ground I coughed several times, looking back up at him through half-opened eyes. _What kind of kick was that?_ I thought to myself. Matt was squatted down on the tree branch, and he grabbed the Rebirth Crystal and put it in his belt before straightening up and glaring down at me.

"Schroeder!" Chris and Blake ran over and looked up at Matt, who looked between them with little expression on his face. His eyes then narrowed as he spotted the glow from the Rebirth Crystal in Chris's belt. Matt bent down, planting his palm on the tree branch in front of him, and he grabbed his sword handle with his other hand. Chris's eyes widened as he instinctively reached for his sniper pistol, but Matt shot down at him at the speed of light and swung his sword.

Blood spattered through the air and across the ground, and Chris stood on shaky legs with wide eyes as Matt was squatted on the ground behind him. Chris keeled over as Matt straightened up, and he turned around and looked down at Chris, who glared up at him with gritted teeth. Blake and I looked at him with wide eyes, but Matt completely ignored us as he bent down, grabbed the Rebirth Crystal off Chris's belt, and he straightened back up and looked at the Crystal, which was identical to the one he had grabbed from the tree.

I got back to my feet and said, "Matt, what are you doing?" Matt turned around to look at me, and as we looked in each other's eyes, I saw that his were empty. "Matt," I said to him through gritted teeth, "Matt, what the hell are you doing?" He didn't respond, and instead he tightened his grip around his sword. "What's going on? Did you get your powers back?" I asked him.

_[Third-person point-of-view]_ Matt looked at Nichi, and he remembered back to his conversation with Orochimaru.

"_I won't join you," Matt informed Orochimaru. _

"_Hmm," Orochimaru said, and his grin seemed to have widened. "Would you perhaps be convinced if I told you that I could restore you to your former glory?" _

_Matt's eyes widened at this, and his words failed him once again. _

"_Yes," Orochimaru said. "I so happen to have the ability to restore all of your former shinobi powers, but I don't feel a need to make you more of a threat to me unless you will agree to be on my side. What do you think? It's quite an offer if you ask me. All you have to do is join me, and I will give you back all of your powers to their fullest extent." _

_Matt could do no more than stand there, staring at Orochimaru through wide eyes and with a jaw slightly agape. Orochimaru waited with his grin on his face as Matt stared at him. After a moment of thought, Matt stuttered in attempted speech, but he finally managed, "Y-Yeah. Fine. Okay. I'll…I'll help you." Orochimaru's grin widened as he revealed his teeth. _

"_Excellent," he said. "I knew you would eventually come to me Mathew. It's good to see that things have been unfolding as I envisioned. Yes, I will give you your powers back, but I'm going to hold off on it for now." _

_Matt's eyes widened as he heard this, and he said, "What?" _

"_I told you, I don't want to make you more of a threat to me unless you are truly on my side. Before I give you back your powers, I want you to do something for me." _

"_Yeah, and what's that?" I asked. _

"_I want you to go out and retrieve the other two Rebirth Crystals for me," Orochimaru said to him. "I know the locations of both of them, and I'm willing to give them to you so that you may retrieve them for me. Do this, among other things, and I may be tempted to trust you enough to give you your powers back. Do we have a deal?" _

_Matt gritted his teeth, and after a moment of thought, he said, "Fine. But if I get you these Crystals, I want my powers back immediately afterwards. If not, I'll take them out of here, and you'll never see them or me again. Understood?" _

_Orochimaru continued to stand there with his grin on his face, but finally he said, "Deal." He then made some hand signs, all the while saying, "In order to give you an edge while potentially fighting for these Crystals, I'll return to you the physical prowess you once possessed. This will make you faster and stronger than Decepticlone forces that you will be facing in combat for these Crystals. And I have another gift for you as well. Kabuto." _

_Matt turned to see Kabuto walking towards him, and he had something long and thin in his hands. He came up to Matt and held the object out to him, and Matt saw that it was a sheathed sword. _

"_It is a Kusanagi Sword, like Sasuke's and my own," Orochimaru explained. "The blade is lightweight, but has a long reach. It can cut through almost anything with little effort. Someone like you should be able to make good use of this blade. If you succeed in this task for me, then I will give you back all of your powers. Afterwards, I expect your eternal loyalty to me." Orochimaru hadn't lost his grin the entire time he was talking, while Matt's eyes were narrowed. _

_[Nichi's point-of-view]_ Matt stood there and looked at me without saying a word, and after a second I sparked electricity into my hands. "Matt, tell me what's going on!" I demanded. Matt's eyes narrowed, and he leaped into the air, flying away from me. My eyes widened, and I ran after him with electricity running through my hands. Matt dropped down and landed on the ground, and immediately ran in the opposite direction like he had been fired from a cannon ball.

Logan bent down over Chris and grabbed his sniper pistol, and as he straightened up and aimed the pistol at Matt and pulled the trigger. A beam of green energy fired from the pistol and shot after Matt, who looked over his shoulder just before he came to a screeching halt, and he spun around and swung his sword, knocking the blast away and leaving him unharmed. Matt stood with his legs bent, arm holding the sword in the air out to his side while his other one was directly in front of him, and he was glaring at Logan, who continued aiming his pistol back at him.

I stared at Matt with my jaw agape, studying everything from his posture to his facial expression, and I was unable to figure out what was going on. "Matt, did you really betray us?" I asked him. Matt flicked his eyes towards me before returning them to Logan, but he didn't respond.

"Matt!" Blake demanded. "Answer us! What are you doing here? Why did you attack Chris? What is your game?"

Matt trained his eyes on him now, and he said, "Really? You saw me attack him, and you're still asking me what I'm doing?" My jaw was agape as I looked at him. His voice sounded the same as it had always been, and yet it was also so different I didn't recognize it.

"Matt, how could you betray us?" I asked him. Matt's eyes narrowed, and a white-hot blast hit me in the back and knocked me off my feet. A squad of five medium units heading eleven light units had their blasters aimed at all of us, including Matt. Matt spun around and swung his sword into the blade of a serge that had come down on top of him from behind, and Matt shoved the serge away with one hand. The serge landed on the ground five feet away from Matt, and it immediately fired a rocket from its shoulder at Matt, who moved his upper body out of the way, allowing the rocket to fly past while the serge charged Matt.

Matt parried its slash, and he swung his other arm around, slapping the serge in the face with his palm, and the disk-shaped bomb that Matt had placed there exploded, blasting off the top half of the Decepticlone's body. Matt ducked down to avoid the flames as they exploded outward, and he then charged straight at a patch of Decepticlones that had converged in place of the serge. Matt jumped up and landed with one foot on a light unit's shoulder, and he leaped off just before a flurry of blasts would have hit him.

He sailed through the air like a bird before coming down and landing back on the ground, and as soon as he hit the dirt he charged off. "No!" I immediately ran after him, and as the Decepticlones aimed their blasters at me, I sent a large burst of electricity at the ground between them that exploded outwards, knocking them all off their feet as I charged through after Matt. I aimed my hands at him and fired several small blasts of electricity after him, but he looked behind him to see them coming, and he barrel-rolled out of the way, allowing them to fly past as he continued running.

I sent bolt after bolt of electricity at Decepticlones that tried to keep me from Matt, and none of them managed to hinder me in my pursuit. I fired several bolts at Matt between Decepticlone attacks, but he evaded or blocked all of them without slowing down. "Stop!" I commanded as I ran after him. Matt didn't falter, and I started building up electricity into my hands as I ran. After a few seconds of charging I let out all of the built-up electricity at the ground behind me, sending me flying into the air after Matt.

I built up electricity into my hands as I came down on top of him, but he came to a dead stop and spun around, swinging his sword at me, and I let out all of my electricity just before we made contact. All of the concentrated power unleashed a massive explosion that shrouded us in a mixture of smoke and dust, concealing us from the view of the other SNIS agents as well as the Decepticlones. Matt flew out of the dust cloud towards the top, and he dropped down and landed on the ground, facing the cloud, with his sword held out in front of him. The dust cloud cleared completely, and I was on one knee, looking at him with desperation, and as I panted with exhaustion blood ran down my face.

"Don't try and pursue me," Matt said to me.

My eyes widened as I registered this, and I said, "What?"

"I am no longer a part of SNIS," he declared. "I have joined with Orochimaru, and I am taking these Crystals back to him. Anyone of you who tries to come after me will meet an early death. Is that understood?"

I gritted my teeth, and as I rose to my feet, I glared at Matt. Matt's eyes narrowed as he looked at me, but without saying anything he turned around and leaped off. I made to go after him, but a hand grabbed my shoulder and held me back, and I looked around to see Blake standing there, looking at me with remorse. He had blood all over him, and as Chris and Logan walked up, I saw that they both were in similar states.

All of the Decepticlones that had been guarding the Rebirth Crystal had been destroyed, and the four of us were the only ones left in the area.

"We need to get back to headquarters," Blake said to me.

"And what about Matt?" I asked.

"We'll deal with him as soon as we can," he answered, "but right now, we need to report to the Director." He then turned to Chris and Logan and said, "Will you be coming with us?"

"Yes," Chris answered. "We need to get our orders from McKinley, since both the Rebirth Crystals are now gone."

Two hours later the four of us were in Director McKinley's office, and she was staring down at her desk with her chin resting on her interlocked fingers. "So Matt's betrayed us, has he?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Permission to go after him," I requested.

"Granted," McKinley confirmed, "but not now. We need to pool our resources and come up with a plan to fight him. You said he had gotten a lot stronger since he joined with Orochimaru?"

"Yes," I answered. "I think he may have gotten his physical abilities back," I hypothesized.

"That's entirely possible," McKinley agreed. "Fortunately the Decepticons have made no further attacks on us, which allows us to prepare for them while still leaving us able to send people out to search for him." She then became lost in thought for a moment, as if she didn't know how to continue with her next move. "Alright," she said finally. "I guess that's the only way to do it. Special Agent Schroeder, I am hereby promoting you to the rank of Intelligence Specialist, effective immediately, and your first mission is to locate and subdue the rogue agent Mathew Withau."


	138. Chapter 135: What Drives

WHAT DRIVES

"What are our orders, Director?" Chris asked.

"You and Logan are going to go back out into the field and search for intelligence on the Decepticons' troop movements. Report back to me every three hours, rather you've found anything or not," McKinley ordered.

"Understood," Chris confirmed. He and Logan left the room, leaving Blake and I with McKinley.

"What are my orders, ma'am?" Blake asked.

"Go through and check our security and defenses, make sure there aren't any leaks where Decepticlones could gain access. I also want you to go speak to Special Agent Lankin in communications and tell him to coordinate the effort to transfer other agents into the headquarters. Let me know when you're done with that. I'm also going to put Special Agent Grove in charge of an air fleet to circle the base and defend against any possible air assaults," McKinley explained.

"Got it," Blake confirmed. He left the room, and McKinley looked at me.

"Find Matt," she said. "Bring him back. When the Decepticons come, he isn't someone we can afford to be without, particularly if he gets his powers back. Do whatever it takes to sway him back to the home team."

"I will," I told her.

I left her office and headed for the exit to headquarters, and as I walked I saw all agents inhabiting the base preparing for war. Some agents were manning and perfecting our defenses while others were cleaning and fine-tuning our weapons. I exited headquarters and was immediately met by Special Agent Neal Whitehirst who introduced himself as my pilot in place of Blake. He told me that I just had to tell him where to go, and he would take me there.

We walked out towards a field adjacent to headquarters, and Whitehirst pressed a button on his belt that caused a fighter identical to Blake's and Dan's to fly around from behind the base and land in front of us. The cockpit opened up and we climbed inside, and when we hit the air, I told him to head straight for Japan. The two of us flew off towards the western coastline, and within three hours we had made it to Japan. We set down on Amami Island in the Land of Sound, which caused me to catch my breath with its sheer beauty.

"That psychotic maniac really rules a place like this?" I asked Whitehirst in awe.

"Yeah, it's a damn shame these people probably have no idea who they're being ruled by," he responded. When we landed, Whitehirst opened the cockpit and I climbed out.

"Alright," I said to him, "Stay here and keep track of the ship. I'm going to go out and search for Matt. If I find him and manage to subdue him, I'll call you, and when I do I need you to get to my position as quickly as possible.

"Roger dodger," Whitehirst confirmed as he closed the cockpit. I walked off towards the rice fields, leaving Whitehirst and his ship behind me.

_[Third-person point-of-view]_ An SNIS fighter flew through the air over a broad forest, and it eventually started descending down into the trees, eventually coming to rest over a small patch of grass. The fighter extended its landing gear and gently touched down on the ground, and when the engine stopped the cockpit opened up. Matt climbed out and dropped to the ground, and he started walking through the forest. After a while he walked out onto open plains, and he walked down a tiny road, up a hill, and to the fence-enclosed military camp of the Hidden Sound.

Matt then diverted from the camp, coming to the hidden hatch in the ground, where he opened up the wooden door, and dropped down into darkness. He lit a match to give him light as he walked through the tunnel, and he eventually came to the large, open cavern with Orochimaru standing in front of his human-sized glass jars. Facing them, Orochimaru said to him, "Did you succeed?"

Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out two identical, glowing white crystals. Orochimaru looked over his shoulder with a grin on his face, and he said, "Excellent. I had the utmost confidence in you."

"I'm sure you did," Matt said in a flat tone. "Now where do you want these?"

"I'll tell you in a moment, but first, come here, Mathew," Orochimaru requested. Matt walked over to him, and Orochimaru gestured to the glass jars. Matt looked inside them, and his eyes widened. Inside each of the jars was a person, eyes closed, curled up in fetal position, with life support tubes attaching from the bottom of the jar to the navel.

"What the hell is this?" Matt asked in as flat a tone as he could manage.

"This is my contingency for death," Orochimaru answered with a proud smile. "These people were former powerful shinobi that I encountered on my travels. I brought them back here and put them in these jars, taking away all of their free will, as well as their intellect. When the time comes that the body I currently possess is no longer able to support me, I will use my jutsu to transfer my soul from this body into one of them. That way I may continue living my life in pursuit of this world's jutsu," Orochimaru explained.

"So that's what you're after," Matt said.

"Correct," Orochimaru confirmed. "It is the nature of human beings to acquire all the power they possibly can, and I want to acquire it all. I want the knowledge of every single jutsu known to humankind so that I may be the most powerful entity history has ever known."

"Aren't there supposed to be something like two million jutsu out there?" Matt asked.

"Yes, and more are being developed every day," Orochimaru answered. "That is why the life of one body is far too insufficient to meet my needs. I have utilized these people to give me all of the time that I need. It may take me a thousand years to learn a tiny fraction of the number of jutsu in this world, but as long as there are bodies to possess, I will continue to learn."

"What about Chakra Natures?" Matt asked.

"Ah, well, that's the special part of my New Body Jutsu," Orochimaru informed him. "Whenever I use the technique on someone whose Chakra Nature is different than my own, I take on that new body's Nature, while still retaining my original. And when I go into a new body after that, the two Natures mold with that of the third body."

"And that also gives you the Kekkei Genkai, combined elements of the Chakra Natures, doesn't it?"

"Indeed it does," Orochimaru said.

"How many times have you used this technique so far?" Matt asked.

"Three," Orochimaru answered.

"And how many jutsu have you learned?"

Orochimaru took on a smile at this inquiry, and he said, "I am approaching three hundred."

Matt looked at one of the glass jars, surveying the female body with long, brown hair inside, and he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to be able to extend his life indefinitely. Before his powers were permanently erased, Matt had had a dormant Rinnegan, and this allowed him to learn jutsu from all six Chakra Natures. He had also been able to learn jutsu much more quickly than most jonin. This had caused many people he had met to cry foul.

People felt that Matt was far too powerful a shinobi, and that the advantages bestowed upon him by the dormant Rinnegan put him too far above regular shinobi. Many people, especially from other villages, had felt that Matt should not be allowed to participate in regular missions. They thought that he should only be able to fight when the fate of the world had depended on it. Tsunade had told him that many judges that witnessed him in the Chunin Exams said he should not be able to compete, as it would put an unfair advantage upon him against the other competitors.

Matt had even heard talk of people saying that he never should have been brought to the shinobi world to begin with, that he should have been left in America, ignorant of his true nature. This was because of the potential power that he may wield if he awakened his Rinnegan. Orochimaru's goals would realize every bit of Matt's potential, and then amplify it a thousand times. Matt wondered how people would react to that. Would they reject him for his strength and say that he should be used only as a weapon for war? Or would they idolize him, and visualize him as their god?

Matt's trance was broken when he realized that Orochimaru was looking at him with an analytical grin on his face. Matt looked at him in the eyes, and felt a shiver down his spine at what he saw in Orochimaru's eyes. It was almost as if Orochimaru felt himself a father figure to Matt.

"Alright, where do you want these?" Matt asked, holding up the Rebirth Crystals.

"Ah, yes, I forgot," Orochimaru admitted. He pointed to a corridor on a ledge twenty feet off the ground and said, "My Crystal is located at the end of that corridor. It goes for quite some distance, so you'll need some form of artificial light to see where you're going."

"Got it," Matt responded.

An hour later, an object flying through the air over the forest caused leaves to drop out of trees and rain across the ground. A shadow dropped down, and Matt landed in a tree just before leaping off again through the forest. He made repetitive leaps across the forest, making a straight line through the land. He moved continuously, his upper body bent over, with his right hand gripping the handle of his sword in the scabbard at the back of his waist.

As he moved, a circuit of electricity shot out from the forest, and Matt's eyes widened just before he was hit square in the chest, knocking him out of the air and sending him crashing to the ground. As Matt struggled to his fours, a foot landed on the ground twenty feet away from him. He looked over, and his eyes widened. Nichi was looking at him with an angry glare, and as she simply stood there and watched them, she didn't say a word. Matt finally got to his feet and glared back at her, and he said, "Nichi, what the hell are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" Nichi's voice was soft and filled with shock as she stepped towards Matt. "You betray us, join Orochimaru, steal the Rebirth Crystals we had and try to kill one of us, and you ask _me_…what I'm doing?" She continued stepping towards him, and Matt stepped back, holding his hands out in surrender.

"Give me a minute," he said to her.

"I gave you a minute," Nichi informed him. "I asked you to tell me what was going on, and you ran away. I'm done trying to reason with you, Matt. You are a rogue agent of SNIS, and I have been tasked with bringing you down. Mathew Withau, you are under arrest for betraying the SNIS. If you don't come quietly, I will force you."

"Nichi, I'm sorry, but I cannot do that," Matt said to her. Nichi's eyes narrowed, and she sparked electricity around her hands.

"Then force it is."

She threw her arms out and fired a bolt of electricity at Matt, but Matt pulled his sword out and blocked the electricity, the force of which knocked him back several inches. He still maintained his stance as he held his sword out in front of him, and Nichi started charging up electricity into her hands.

"Nichi, do not do this," Matt implored as he once again held his arms out in surrender.

"Then let me take you back to SNIS," Nichi said to him.

"No!"

Nichi fired an intense current of electricity at Matt, who held his sword out in front of him with both hands, but when the electricity rammed into the blade, the force of impact knocked Matt back through the air, sending him tumbling across the ground. Matt ended face-down, head looking straight up at Nichi, and as she looked down at him, Matt noticed grief in her eyes.

"Nichi, just give me a second to explain," Matt said to her.

"Yeah, Nichi, let him explain."

Matt's and Nichi's eyes widened, and they looked around, up into a tree overlooking them.

"Haven't seen you in a while," Matt said as he got back to his feet.

"Yeah, I've been busy," Sasuke said as he looked down at Matt with a small grin.


	139. Chapter 136: Convergence

CONVERGENCE

"What are you doing here?" Matt asked him. Sasuke was wearing a white, collared t-shirt that was open at the neck, and he was wearing blue jeans with a black belt, in which his sword scabbard was placed at the back of his waist.

"I like the Americanized look," Nichi said to him with a small grin.

Sasuke looked back at her with a similar grin, and he said, "New mission, I figure it's time for a change of style."

"New mission?" Matt asked as he walked up to him.

Nichi glared at him as he approached, but he didn't make any notion or comment.

"Yeah, I've decided to help you guys out again," Sasuke informed them.

"Help us out with what?" Matt asked.

Sasuke looked at Nichi, and as the two exchanged glances, she said, "He doesn't know."

"Know what?" Matt asked.

Nichi looked at him and said, "While you were off with Orochimaru, the Decepticons declared war on us."

Matt's eyes widened as his jaw fell agape, but he didn't say anything and just looked at Nichi.

"So what's the deal, Matt?" Nichi asked him. "Are you going to come back to SNIS and help us, or are you going to go back to Orochimaru for whatever ridiculous reason you've chosen to join him."

"It's not that I _chose_ to join him," Matt corrected her tentatively.

"Then what was it?" Nichi asked.

"He was bribed," Sasuke answered. He and Nichi looked at Matt, and Sasuke said, "Weren't you? Orochimaru offered to give you back your powers in exchange for your allegiance, didn't he?"

Matt hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yeah."

Nichi looked between the two of them with wide eyes and a slightly-open mouth, and after a moment she said, "Did you get them back?"

"No," Matt answered, "not entirely. He gave me back my physical capabilities as collateral, with a promise to give me back my full powers if he felt he could trust me."

"So that's why you joined him," Nichi said wistfully.

Matt then chuckled a little bit and said, "'_Joined_ him' wouldn't be the best choice of words."

"What do you mean?" Nichi asked. Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out two Rebirth Crystals to display to Sasuke and Nichi. The two of them looked at them, and as they did so Matt reached into his other pocket. Nichi's eyes widened while Sasuke took on a grin, and Matt held up a third crystal in his opposite hand, completely identical to the other two.

"This is the Rebirth Crystal that Orochimaru had. I stole this and left his base before he even knew what happened. I'm sure he'll have his guards out looking for me by now, so we need to get out of here before they find us, which they will soon." Matt then looked at Sasuke and said, "You're coming with us?"

"I already said that," Sasuke confirmed.

"Good. Nichi, go back to your ship; Sasuke and I will take mine back to base so that we can prepare for the war."

"Okay, so now you are coming back to SNIS?" Nichi said.

"Well yeah, I didn't know there was an impending invasion on headquarters five minutes ago," Matt said to her.

Nichi looked at him with eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she eventually turned around and ran towards the edge of the forest, leaving Matt and Sasuke alone.

_[Matt's point-of-view]_ "Where's your ship?" Sasuke asked.

"It's on the Amami coastline," I answered. "I left it there so it would be hidden from Orochimaru's men so they wouldn't sabotage it in case he suspected my defection."

"You think ahead," Sasuke commented.

"Can't afford not to around him," I said to him.

Forty-five minutes later two SNIS fighters were flying over the ocean, leaving the coast of Japan behind. I piloted one, with Sasuke sitting in the backseat, while Nichi sat in the backseat of the one piloted by Special Agent Whitehirst.

Meanwhile, Orochimaru was standing in front of his replacement bodies, looking at them with a grin. Kabuto walked out of a cave corridor twenty feet up, and then dropped down and landed at a kneel. He straightened up and walked over to Orochimaru, and he said, "The Rebirth Crystals are gone."

"Yes, I figured as much," Orochimaru said to the containment jars without changing his expression.

"You never expected him to join us at all, did you?" Kabuto asked.

"Not even for a moment," Orochimaru answered.

Back in Saint Peters, the door to McKinley's office opened, and Nichi walked in. "Special Agent Schroeder," McKinley addressed. "Did you manage to find—?" Her inquiry was interrupted by my entry, shortly followed by Sasuke's. McKinley flitted her eyes between us for a moment before saying, "I take it that's a yes."

"Any news on the Decepticons?" I asked.

"We'll get to that later, where have you been?" McKinley asked me.

"Trying to get my powers back," I answered.

"Were you successful?" McKinley asked.

"Kind of," I admitted. "Orochimaru gave me my physical abilities, but not my chakra or jutsu."

"Yes, Special Agent Schroeder and I speculated as much," McKinley informed me.

"But I was successful in my original mission," I said to her with a sly grin.

McKinley's face fell in shock as she looked at me, and I dropped the three Rebirth Crystals onto her desk. She looked at them as if she was about to have a stroke, and she looked up at me and said, "I thought you were taking the other two back to Orochimaru."

"Just to gain access to his," I said with a grin.

"So have you tried to use them?" McKinley asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I forgot to mention," I said as I scratched my head.

McKinley let out a subtle sigh and said, "I knew this was too good to be true."

"Well, we have the Crystals," I said to her, "but we don't have the thing that actually makes them work."

"And what would that be?"

"It's a thing called the Rebirth Stone, and when the Crystals are inserted into it, only then can the revival ability be used. And…I have _no_ idea where it might be."

"Okay, but the important thing here is that we have the Crystals, so the Decepticons won't be able to bring back their dead."

"The important thing here is that the Decepticons will know we have the Crystals they were guarding, so they're going to throw everything they have at us to get them back. We're going to need everything we can muster to defend ourselves against them," I corrected her.

McKinley thought about this for a minute, but before she said anything, her computer started ringing. The three of us came around to view her monitor, and she opened up a video feed.

"Um," I said as a pair of bright, red eyes peered out of darkness.

"Lord Megatron," Director McKinley said coolly, making my eyes widen. "Have you called to inform us that you have decided to rescind on your plans to attack us?"

The Decepticon leader let out a cold, mechanical laugh and said, "Not by a long shot, Director. I have received intelligence that states your people have my Rebirth Crystals. To that end, I have moved my attack up. My forces will be at your doorstep in twenty-four hours. Do what you can to prepare yourselves, because my men will be merciless."

Transmission was then cut, leaving McKinley, Nichi, Sasuke and I staring at a blank screen. "We need to prepare," McKinley informed us. "We need to prepare quickly."

"Where is Dan?" I asked.

"He's out locating the troops sent to find Decepticlone forces and telling them to come back here. His last report stated that he should be back sometime tomorrow," McKinley answered.

I then looked at Sasuke and said, "You're the strongest one here, by far. We _need _you to help us."

"You got a hearing problem?" Sasuke said to me. "I already told you I would help you. Don't worry, Tanzaki. I'll help you out. However…" I turned to look at him, and Sasuke said, "I'm instating a condition for my assistance. The same condition as last time, in fact."

"You want me to help you look for Itachi," I confirmed. Sasuke nodded.

"Once we're done, and I'll even wait until this place is cleaned up after the battle, I want you to dedicate your full attention to assisting me in my search for Itachi. Do we have a deal?" he asked, holding out his hand.

I looked at him for a moment before saying, "I guess I do still owe you for helping us out last time." I reached my own hand out and grasped his while Nichi and McKinley watched us.

"Alright," McKinley said to the three of us. "We now have twenty-four hours to prepare for the Decepticlone arrival, so we need to harden our defenses as much as possible before they get here. There are about five thousand agents on their way here right now from other branches to provide support. There will be more coming, but their arrival will be a process taking place over the next week. I'm hoping this will be over with by then, but we can't assume anything at this point. I've got a fleet of fighters flying over the city looking for any air invasion. They'll also be the first to know when the ground troops come," McKinley explained.

"Is the air fleet ordered to attack on sight of ground troops?" Sasuke asked.

"Uh, no," McKinley answered. "They've been ordered to return back to base and help us enforce our defense."

Sasuke and I both looked at her, and I said, "You should change those orders."

"Yeah," McKinley said. "I'll do that in just a minute. Anyways, we've got automated defenses set up all across the city in case of an invasion, so the Decepticlones will have a hard time getting through to headquarters."

"Great, so my hometown is about to turn into a battleground," I said as I put my face into one palm.

"I'm sorry, Matt," McKinley said sincerely. "If there was a way to avoid this…"

"No," I said, looking up at her. "No, no, I understand. You're doing what needs to be done. Any damage that happens to the city because of this will be the Decepticons' fault."

Nichi looked at me with a small smile, but I paid no attention. McKinley looked at me as well, and she then looked at Nichi, as if she wanted to say something. She then averted her gaze to Sasuke, who immediately took the hint and left the office.

"Matt, Nichi," McKinley said to us, "I want to tell you something, because I might not get the chance to later." Nichi and I listened to her, and she said, "You two are the best I've ever had at this agency, and while I hope to save as many lives as possible, please…both of you…be careful out there." Nichi and I were at a loss for words, and we both decided to simply stand there and smile at her.

The next day, Sasuke, Nichi and I walked outside to join several thousand troops positioned around headquarters with their weapons ready. "McKinley's got more troops around the city, and every citizen has been evacuated. They've met the Decepticlones before, so they know what's going on," I said to the crowd at large.

"Oh," Nichi said with a smile. "We have company."

The troops cleared a path for a black car coming down the road towards us. The car pulled over as the engine shut off, and the doors opened up. Dan, Terrones, Dorval, and Ryland all stepped out of the vehicle and walked towards us, and at the same time, a second car came from the right. Out of the second car came Taylor, Erin, and Special Agent Parker, and all seven of them walked over to us. Dan and I shook hands and nodded, and he looked at Sasuke and said, "Can't say I was expecting to see you here."

"Expectations are misleading," Sasuke said to him.

Taylor and Erin hugged Nichi, and the crowd looked at me with confident grins on their faces. I put one hand on the grip of my sword while I held the opposite arm up to display Flashbang attached to it, and I said, "Are we ready for round two?"

It was at that precise moment that the call came in over the radio. "_Enemy sighted!_" We all looked towards the northern edge of the city as fiery light was cast into the air, but the buildings masked what was happening.

"Tanzaki!" Sasuke said to me as he looked straight up into the air. I looked up as well, and three meteors came down onto the city.


	140. Chapter 137: Starting Front

STARTING FRONT

Fiery light cast over the northern border of the city, while the three meteors plummeted down, crashing down within a square mile of each other, two miles northeast from headquarters.

"Nichi! Take Taylor and Erin and go help the northern front! Dan, you and your team are with us!" I ordered.

Nichi, Taylor, and Erin all headed north while Dan, his team, Sasuke and I went northeast. The rest of the agents at headquarters remained in their positions while several platoons throughout the city headed towards the two battlegrounds. In about ten minutes the six of us arrived at an area that had sustained damage in three concentrated spots. Dan and his team held their guns at the ready and went over to one crater while Sasuke went to the second and I went to the third. Sasuke and I both pulled out our swords and held them out, and we all peered down into the craters, but they were all empty.

"You guys have anything?" I yelled out.

"Negative," Dan answered.

"Nothing here," Sasuke confirmed.

Right behind me, a black car started its engine, and I turned around just as a light-purple blast hit me in the gut, sending me flying through the air and smashing into the side of a building. "Matt!" Dan yelled as he ran towards me.

Sasuke followed with his sword drawn, but another engine started to his left, and he looked around to see a large, red truck sitting in an alley, facing him. Dan ran towards me, but the ground was blasted apart right in front of him, knocking him back as a twenty-foot-tall, dark-gray robot dropped down, bearing over him and uttering a mechanical growl. I kicked my way out of the building I was in and came to the edge, looking around at the three Decepticons. The black car rolled over towards the building I was in just before it started transforming, and the robot rose eighteen feet into the air, and looked up at me with blood in its eyes.

I pulled my sword out of its scabbard, and I jumped out of the building and came down on top of the Decepticon as he aimed a gun up at me. I barrel-rolled through the air, evading the shot as it shaved ten feet off the top of the building behind me, and I dropped down and landed on the ground. I immediately shot at the Decepticon's foot, but he took a step back just before aiming his gun down at me, but I kept coming at him with my sword raised. The Decepticon pulled the trigger, and the ground around me exploded into a dust cloud, but I flew ten feet in the air over the Decepticon, and as I came down on top of him I swung my blade, slashing into his face.

The Decepticon screamed in pain as I landed on the ground directly in front of him, and I aimed Flashbang up at him and fired a pair of rockets that landed right in his face. The Decepticon keeled backwards and toppled to the ground, causing the earth under us to rumble, and I jumped back, sailing through the air and landing on the top of a one-story house, looking down at him. I held my sword out in front of me, waiting for the Decepticon to get back up, but the Decepticon rolled over and got to his fours, glaring up at me. He then aimed his gun at me once again, but I disappeared in a burst of speed, reappearing on the ground behind the Decepticon with Flashbang aimed up at him.

I fired a second pair of rockets, but the Decepticon leaped into the air over them, and as he sailed through the skies he aimed his gun down at me. I dove to the right as the ground where I had been exploded, and I rolled back to my feet and ran laterally to the Decepticon, and he dropped back down to the ground, firing his gun repeatedly. I ran out of the way of several bullets as they tore the ground apart behind me, and as I ran I pulled out my pistol and aimed it up at him, firing several blasts at the Decepticon. As the Decepticon landed on the ground, several panels came out of his forearm to form a shield, and he blocked all of the pistol blasts just before firing another shot at me.

I ducked down just as the ground ten feet behind me exploded, and I then pulled a small, metal ball out of my pocket. I ran straight at the Decepticon, and as he aimed his gun down at me I jumped up, came level with his face, and threw the Shock Grenade at him. The Decepticon backed off, stumbling over his own feet in effort to avoid the grenade, and he let it fly over his head as he stuck his arm down to keep his balance. I descended towards the ground while the Decepticon straightened back up, and he aimed his gun down at me. I landed on the ground and ran laterally out of the way just as the ground where I had been exploded.

The Decepticon trailed me with his gun barrel, but I ran in a zigzag motion to avoid the barrage of gun bullets that tore the ground apart around me. I made a straight line for a building directly in front of me, and I dove over the fence bordering the property. As soon as I hit the ground behind the fence I crawled hastily towards the building just before the fence was blown apart, giving the Decepticon clear line of sight of me. I rolled over and aimed double pistols at him, firing rapidly blast after blast as the Decepticon revealed its shield, blocking them all and leaving him unharmed. I got to my feet and ran towards the back of the building, but the Decepticon aimed its gun and pulled the trigger, causing the house to explode with tremendous force.

Timbers flew in every direction from the foundation, cascading over me as I looked out at the Decepticon.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] A blaze washed over a gigantic mechanical form, and when the flames cleared the Decepticon Discharge aimed a wrist blaster at me and fired a burst of electricity. I leaped into the air just as the electricity hit the ground, and the instant it made contact the blast exploded into a dozen tendrils of electricity that charged everything they came into contact with. I held my blade out in front of me and charged electricity into it, and after a moment I said, "_Chidori Slash!_" I swung my sword outwards and fired an arc of electricity down at him, but Discharge held his arm out and activated a light-purple, electric shield that blocked the attack, leaving him unharmed.

As I dropped towards the ground Discharge deactivated his shield, and he held his other arm out and fired a second burst of electricity at me. I held my sword out to intercept the blast, but the explosion of electricity that followed impact knocked me back through the air, sending me into the front wall of a building. I stumbled out of the crater I had punched with blood dripping to the ground from my face, and I put my sword back in its scabbard and made hand signs. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired a barrage of forty tiny fireballs out at Discharge, but he held his arm directly up into the air, and several gun barrels appeared out of his shell.

Tendrils of electricity fired out of the barrels and flew through the air, veering in and out of each other to form a large dome that intercepted all of the fireballs. Discharge then aimed his arm at me, and all of the electric tendrils flew straight at me, prompting me to leap into the air and out of the way just before the building behind me was completely leveled. I flew through the air and drew my sword, coming down on top of Discharge as electricity shrouded my blade. A compartment opened up on Discharge's wrist, and electricity sprung out that took the shape of a sword. We swung our swords at each other, and when they made contact electricity exploded on all sides of us.

I struggled to hold my guard as Discharge pressed in on me, but after a moment the electricity around us concentrated into his sword. My eyes widened just as he made one final push, and all of the electricity exploded with tremendous force, sending me flying back through the air. I hit the top of my arc and started falling towards the ground, and when I hit I tore a hundred-foot line through the buildings, raising dust fifty feet into the air. Discharge put his hand on the ground in front of him, and he floated up into the air just before he transformed into an otherworldly jet and shot off after me.

Discharge came into the air over the line of destroyed buildings I had created, and he fired off a pair of concentrated electricity missiles. The missiles hit the ground and let off tremendous bursts of electricity that tore a section of the city to pieces. Every metal surface within fifty feet of the blast site was electrified, but I hunched just inside a building, looking out at the destruction for a sign of Discharge. A mechanical noise made me look around, and I saw several Decepticlones making their way towards me. "Perfect," I said with a straight face.

[Dan's point-of-view] I rolled laterally just as a gigantic knife blade embedded itself in the ground next to me, and I straightened up and aimed my assault rifle up at the Decepticon Ransack, firing several rounds right into his face. Ransack uttered a mechanical roar just before he swung his arm around, batting me away like a fly and sending me flying into a building. I kicked my way out of the rubble, sitting in the crater I had punched into the front wall, and with blood running down my face and arm I said, "Well, that hurt."

I activated jet boots and came into the air, and as Ransack stepped towards me with knives in both hands, I made hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Tool Summoning Jutsu!_" A puff of smoke spawned a giant shuriken into my hand, which I swung forward and threw at Ransack. I then made some more signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Shuriken Expansion Jutsu!_" Smoke appeared around the shuriken just before it instantly grew to thirty feet long, tearing the ground apart as it came at Ransack. Ransack rolled out of the way just as the shuriken rumbled past, leveling buildings and sending smoke and dust into the air, and Ransack came to a kneel and fired a wrist-mounted rocket at me.

I threw my hands down and to the right, letting out a pulse that sent me flying up and to the left, allowing me to evade the rocket as it flew by and blasted a building to pieces. A knife flew through the air at me, spinning like a buzz-saw, and I was just barely able to react as it tore through my shoulder, spattering blood through the air as I dropped down and slammed into the ground. I tried to crawl away one-armed as Ransack stomped towards me, and I felt him leap up into the air. I rolled away just as he slammed his knife down right where I had been, and Ransack threw a second knife at me that busted right through my shield, grazing the top of my head as it tumbled through the air.

Ransack pulled his other knife out and threw it at me as well, and I laid flat on the ground just as it flew over, and I then rolled onto my fours and activated a pulse out of my feet that shot me away. I activated my jet boots and came onto the roof of a building, and as I turned around to face Ransack, I started panting in exhaustion.

"Do not expect to defeat us," Ransack said in a deep voice. "We are the Decepticon Elite Squadron. Each of us individually is stronger than the entire Decepticlone Army. You three vermin cannot hope for victory. All you can do is surrender, and hope that our Lord may be in a merciful mood."

"I'm sorry," I said as I continued panting, "but that will not happen."

[Nichi's point-of-view] I came to the edge of a large highway overpass, looking out at a massive force of Decepticlones marching towards the city from the farmland. Erin walked up from behind me to view the force, and her eyes shifted across the thousands of robots making a steady pace for Saint Peters. "You know what to do," I said to her.

Erin looked onto the road behind her, and a tiny green robot walked up. The robot transformed, and Erin picked up a scoped sniper rifle that she rested onto the raised edge of the highway. "Go," she said to me. "I'll keep you covered." I climbed onto the edge of the highway and dropped down, building up electricity across my body as I plummeted, and as soon as I hit the ground I let out a massive burst, cushioning my impact and allowing me to rise to my feet. I took a step forward as the army of SNIS troops behind me held their weapons, and I said, "Let's defend our home."


	141. Chapter 138: Collision

COLLISON

[Matt's point-of-view] On one side enormous dust clouds brought timbers raining down across the city. On the other side massive waves of fire washed over the city, bringing destruction with it. I watched as my city was torn apart in the wake of the battle around me, and I had a pained expression on my face as a gigantic robot marched towards me.

"Worry not, human," said the Decepticon Jackhammer as he held his gun in his hand. "Your city falls around you, but you will fall with it. That is something that I have been tasked to guarantee."

"Yeah, see, here's the thing," I said as I walked towards Jackhammer. "You guys came out of nowhere, swooped down on us and raised hell against us, tearing my town apart in a war that we wanted no part of. I'm holding the Decepticons personally responsible for that, and if your leader is listening, which I know he is, he better get ready, because I'm coming straight for him."

Jackhammer looked at me for a moment before saying, "Brave words, human. If you find a way past me, I have little doubt that Lord Megatron will have an excellent fight on the way. But, as I said, you will need to find a way past me."

At that moment a red, metal box on my back expanded outwards, and it began covering my limbs with red, mechanical armor. Safeguard uttered mechanical noises as he coated my whole body, and as the helmet came onto my head, I said, "I will get past you."

Jackhammer fired his gun at me, but I rolled to the side as the ground exploded, and I fired a pair of rockets from Flashbang at him, but Jackhammer ducked the rockets just before planting his hand on the ground. He lurched forward and transformed into a car, and he sped straight at me as I bent my legs in preparation. I waited until the last second and leaped into the air, and time slowed down as I flipped over Jackhammer while he drove under me. I fired a second pair of rockets that landed right onto his hood, blasting a huge hole into his exterior. Jackhammer swerved back and forth as he drove, and he eventually transformed back into his robot mode, tumbling across the ground just before he came to a stop at a squat, one hand on the ground in front of him while he glared at me.

I stood on the ground with my arms out to my sides, bent down in preparation to attack or defend as I looked at Jackhammer.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] Fire washed over Discharge from behind as he held his arm up to protect his face, and as soon as the fire cleared he spun around and fired a burst of electricity at me, but I disappeared just before the top story of the building I was on was blown clean off. I appeared at his feet to his left, and I swung my sword and fired a _Chidori Slash_ right into his side, knocking him back several steps and turning him to face me. I jumped up into the air and came down at him with my sword, and I swung and let out a massive circuit of electricity that hit him vertically across the face, knocking him back even more.

I landed on the ground as he swayed back and forth, and Discharge growled quietly as he cupped his face in his hands. "Hey," I said to him. Discharge looked at me, and I spat a _Fireball_ at him that hit him directly in the face, sending him falling back and hitting the ground on his back. As soon as I lowered my arms, a light-purple blast hit me in the back of the shoulder, and I spun around to see a unit of Decepticlones looking at me, all pointing their blasters. I looked around at them all just before I disappeared in a burst of speed, and one-by-one the Decepticlones were all cut in two, causing them to crash to the ground as I reappeared behind all of their corpses.

I looked over my shoulder to look at them, and I looked behind them to see Discharge rising to his feet, growling continuously in pain and anger. "You're different from the other Decepticons," I commented to him.

Discharge looked at me before taking on a small smile, and he said, "Yes. I was once the one who distributed electronic resources to the entire planet of Cybertron. All of our weapons and equipment were powered by me and my work. After so many decades I began to take in some of the radiation emitting from the energy, and I became able to channel the power into my weapons. It was for that reason that Lord Megatron came to me and offered me a special part in his army. We, the Decepticon Elite Squadron, are the most powerful soldiers under his command, and we will do whatever he deems necessary.

"And right now that means that I must vanquish you as quickly as possible, so that I may then move forth and lay siege to your base. _Nothing_ will get in my way of that."

"You're in pretty well over your head here," I said as electricity sparked across my blade. "Hate to break it to you, but I'm doing a favor for somebody so that he'll hopefully return it to me, so I can't really let you get as far as you want to."

"Then we both are on equal ground," Discharge informed me. "I am loyal to my lord, and you are loyal to your word. We both fight for worthy causes, and therefore—"

"Let me make something very clear to you," I interrupted. Discharge's eyes narrowed as he looked at me, and I said, "You may have some form of honor that makes you think you're justified, but I don't care. It doesn't matter what you're fighting for; I'll still break right through you, because what I'm fighting for is more important to me. So enough with your talk. Let's just finish this."

Discharge looked at me for a moment before saying, "Fine. If you don't want to have an honorable battle, that is on you. I will simply kill you and move on to the rest of your army."

"Then bring it," I responded as electricity sparked across my sword. Discharge aimed his arm at me and fired a burst of electricity, but I leaped into the air over it, somersaulted while elevated and swung my sword, firing a _Chidori_ _Slash_ down at Discharge. Discharge activated his shield to block the attack, but while I was still in the air I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I spat my jutsu down at him, but Discharge aimed his arm back up and fired another electric burst that intercepted the fireball, tearing it apart in the electric tendrils that exploded outward.

I blocked one of the tendrils with my sword, and I was sent back through the air before I back-flipped and landed on the roof of a building. I had my sword held out in front of me, and Discharge fired an electric burst at me that I disappeared to evade. I reappeared in the middle of a flip directly above his right shoulder, and I swung my electrified sword through his joint, cutting a gash into his armor that made him grunt in pain as I dropped to the ground behind him. I landed on the ground and jumped away, and Discharge turned around to look at me as he massaged his shoulder with his other hand.

I ran through buildings as quickly as I could, keeping my sword in hand and ready. I then exited a two-story building and leaped into the air, coming onto a roof and turning around to look in the direction I had come from. A jet rose into the air from the city, and my eyes narrowed as electricity sparked across the blade of my sword. Discharge flew towards me and fired a pair of electric missiles at me, and I immediately ran in the opposite direction, jumping off the building and dropping down the other side. The two missiles flew over the building and came down into the city about two hundred feet away from me, leveling entire blocks and shattering windows five hundred feet away.

I held my sword out to block the resulting shockwave, but I was knocked back through the building behind me and came out the other side. I landed on the ground and rolled to my feet just before a jet engine sounded, and Discharge landed on the ground in front of me, back in his robot form. I swung my sword and fired a _Chidori_ _Slash_ right into his face, and he stumbled back several steps while I ran away again.

[Dan's point-of-view] Several enormous shuriken were embedded in the ground around the battlefield, taller than most buildings as Ransack and I fought. I flew through the air, firing my assault rifle the whole way, but Ransack held his arm out to block all of the blasts while he remained largely unharmed. After a moment he grabbed a knife from his waist and threw it at me, but I fired a pulse of energy from my hands that sent me flying straight up into the air and over the knife. A second knife came flying at me, and I ducked to the side of it, allowing it to graze the top of my shoulder as it flew by. Ransack then reached across his opposite shoulder and grabbed a handle, and he pulled out a large broadsword that he spun in his hand as he stepped towards me.

I made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Tool Summoning Jutsu!_" A puff of smoke appeared around me, and when it cleared I was holding a sword in my hand that I held out in front of me.

"The three swordsmen," Ransack commented to me. At that same time, Sasuke held his electrified sword in his hand while Matt landed on the ground, aiming Flashbang on one arm while the opposite hand was gripping the sword at his waist.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "But my sword is a little different from theirs."

"And how is that?" Ransack asked me. I brought my arm back and threw my sword at him, and fifteen blades pivoted out from the original, forming a circle as the sword spun like a saw. Ransack's eyes narrowed as he swung his own sword around, knocking mine away as I appeared right next to his face.

"_Ninja Art: Blast Palm!_" I thrust my palm right into his jaw and let out a burst of energy that punched a deep dent into his armor, knocking him back and sending him crashing to the ground. I then flew through the air and grabbed my sword off the ground, flying over and landing off the roof of a building.

"That was a neat trick," Ransack said to me as he got back to his feet. "But it isn't something I'm going to fall for again."

I stood there looking down at him, and I tightened the grip around my sword.

[Nichi's point-of-view] Explosions broke all across the field outside the city, and SNIS agents waged full-scale war against the Decepticlone Army. I fired current after current of electricity, taking out one Decepticlone after another as I threw up shields with my opposite hands to block incoming blasts. I then built up electricity into my hands and clapped them together, letting out a tremendous shockwave that took out a dozen light units before they could raise their weapons. As soon as I lowered my hands a missile hit the ground at my feet, knocking me down while a heavy unit stomped up to me, aiming its blaster and missile pack down.

Its head was then blown clean off, and Erin stood at the edge of the overpass, aiming her sniper rifle down into the mayhem. Twenty feet away Taylor fired an assault rifle continuously, taking out a pack of light units that didn't have time to react. As soon as she cleared them they were replaced by three medium units that came over and took aim. Taylor dove out of the way as a barrage of blasts flew by, and she immediately got to her feet and fired a red missile launcher on her arm.

The missile flew over and hit a medium unit square in the chest, knocking him off his feet while the other two took aim. Taylor turned around and ran in the opposite direction, and after fifteen feet she turned back around and aimed the Mini-Con Lock-On once again. She fired a second missile at a second medium unit, but as soon as he hit the ground the first one got back up. Taylor immediately switched to her assault rifle and fired a barrage of blasts, and the first medium unit was torn apart while the last one took aim.

Taylor ducked the two blasts that the medium unit fired, and as the other one she had knocked down got back up, Taylor reached into her pocket. She threw a Shock Grenade into the exact center of the two, and the burst of electricity that erupted blasted them both to pieces. I kept a continuous surge of electricity going across a shockmace, and after a few seconds the Decepticlone keeled over and hit the ground. I sensed something coming and barrel-rolled to the left just as a serge brought his sword down on the spot where I had been.

I came back to my feet and fired a current of electricity at him, but the serge blocked it with his sword while the rocket pack on his shoulder opened up. He fired a rocket at me, but I sent a burst of electricity that knocked it away, and I then put more power into the charge I was already hitting him with. The serge began to struggle against the current, and eventually his arm was forced up over his head, leaving him wide open to be violently electrocuted. When the electricity ceased, the serge dropped to his knees, and then swayed over and hit the ground.

All around, SNIS agents battled Decepticlone soldiers, and the results were heavily mixed. It seemed that there were as many SNIS victories as there were Decepticlone triumphs. I looked for people who were in need of help, but as soon as I found someone in trouble, there were either already killed before I could help them, or saved by a sniper bullet. I then looked around me as two shockmaces approached me, and I sparked electricity across both hands. One of the shockmaces aimed its staff and fired a circuit of electricity, but I formed a shield to block it, and then fired an electric burst back at it. The shockmace blocked the burst with its staff, and it then slammed the balled end onto the ground, firing a current of electricity across the earth at me.

I jumped to the left of the current, allowing it to travel by, and I then fired several bolts of electricity at the shockmace, who spun its staff in its hands to block them all. The second shockmace then swung its staff down, firing a wave of electricity at me that I held my hands out and caught. Reinforced with my own electricity, I brought the wave up and threw it over my head, sending it flying up into the air and away from the battlefield. At that moment electricity surged across my body, and I dropped to the ground as a third shockmace stood over me from behind. The other two shockmaces walked over to me, looking down at me while the third built up electricity into its staff.

My body then glowed with a bright-purple aura, and all of the shockmaces took a step back, and after a moment electricity erupted outward from my body, hitting all of the shockmaces square in the chest and perforating their bodies, leaving singeing holes in their armor as they all keeled over. I got back to my feet, and as soon as I did the sound of multiple jet engines made me look up. A fleet of seven Decepticlone jets flew over the battle and headed straight into the city.


	142. Chapter 139: Drei Schwerten

DREI SCHWERTEN

I watched in horror as the jets flew over the battlefield, racing straight into the city. I put my hand to my ear and said, "Matt!"

[Matt's point-of-view] "What!?" I said angrily as I flew back. I landed on the ground and fired Flashbang, but Jackhammer ducked the rockets and fired his gun at me. I dove to the side just as the ground where I had been exploded, and when I got back up Nichi said, "You have a fleet of Decepticlone jets heading into the city! I think they're coming towards you!"

"Oh," I said casually, "that's no problem." I then said, "McKinley, you've got enemy aircraft in the city."

[McKinley's point-of-view] I stood on the roof of the SNIS headquarters, looking to the north at the seven jets heading my way. "I see them," I said. "Special Agent Towers, are you ready?"

"We're ready," he responded through the communicator.

"Then launch," I ordered.

A section of the roof opened up behind me, and out of it came a large gun that pointed straight up into the air. I watched the jets come closer and closer to headquarters, and I could tell that they had their weapons trained on me. "_Fire!_" I yelled. The gun fired a large blast of electricity straight up into the air, and when it cleared fifty feet off the roof, the blast exploded into an enormous EMP that traveled through the air, washing over the jets and causing them to become shrouded in electricity. "Air Fleet, you are authorized to engage," I ordered through the communicator.

At that moment a fleet of ten SNIS fighters approached the enemy ships from behind and unleashed a torrent of blaster and missile fire, tearing apart all of the Decepticlone ships and sending them plummeting to the ground in balls of fire. "Target has been eliminated," the head of the SNIS fleet reported.

"Good work," I commended. "Fly across the city and eliminate any enemy forces you see, but avoid the battle to the north," I ordered.

"Understood," the agent complied.

[Matt's point-of-view] A building crumbled to the ground, sending dust into the air, and I stood twenty feet in front of it, knees bent, panting heavily while blood ran down the side of my face. There were scratches all over my armor, and Flashbang had sparks coming out of his body that caused him to shudder while he sat on my arm. Jackhammer, on the other hand, had no damage to him whatsoever, and looked as though he was just getting warmed up as he walked casually towards me with his gun in hand.

"Are you going to give up any time soon?" he asked me in exasperation.

"Only when I'm dead," I replied as I put my hand on the pistol at my belt.

"Fine," Jackhammer said. "If that's what it takes, that's what I'll bring." He aimed his gun at me, but I rolled to the side and pulled my own gun out, firing several blasts at him that he blocked with his bare arm. I then aimed my arm down and fired Flashbang, and the rockets flew through the air and hit him in the shin, blasting his leg up and causing Jackhammer to crash to the ground. I lowered Flashbang and grabbed my sword, and I then ran straight at Jackhammer as he started getting back to my feet, but before I got anywhere near him he aimed his gun at me, and I jumped to the side just as he fired a shot, and I skidded across the ground laterally.

As I skidded I aimed my pistol and fired several blasts, and while Jackhammer managed to block the majority of the blasts with his arm, some of them managed to slip past and hit him across his body, melting pieces of his armor and causing him to grunt in pain. While he was distracted I shot straight at him and drew my sword, and when I was twenty feet out I leaped into the air, flying straight at Jackhammer and aiming the tip of my sword directly at his face. Jackhammer raised his arm, but I used the hand not holding my sword to fire my pistol at his joints, causing his arm to drop down and leave him defenseless while I closed in.

The sound of tearing metal rented the air, and I dropped down with my sword fresh from a swing, and Jackhammer roared in pain as he held his face. After a moment he lowered his arm and glared at me, and sparks flew from the deep gash going across his face. _This is one sharp blade,_ I thought to myself as I looked up at him. Jackhammer reached down to his waist, and my eyes widened as he aimed two identical guns down at me. I shot out of the way as the ground exploded with the force of a missile impact, and Jackhammer aimed both guns and fired repeatedly, destroying buildings and tearing the ground apart as I dodged all of the blasts.

I came around to the back of a building and came to a sitting position, but the entire structure was immediately blasted apart as I shot up and kept running. Jackhammer came around the pile of rubble, and he looked after me with blood in his eyes.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] "I hope you don't think just because you took out a tiny portion of our fleet, you have us defeated?" Discharge said to me.

"No, but when that army north of the city falls, you will be," I commented to him. I then sparked electricity across my blade, and I ran straight at him while Discharge aimed his arm down at me.

I disappeared just as a burst of electricity hit the ground where I had been, and I came down on top of him with my electrified blade aiming straight down at his face. Discharge held his arm up and formed an electric shield, and I rammed my sword right into it, causing electric circuits to fly out on all sides of us. As I pressed my blade down, Discharge swung his other arm around, and I was forced to bring my sword up as he rammed into it, sending me flying away and smashing through several buildings. When the dust cleared, I stood on the ground, hunched over with my shirt sleeve torn clean off, and there was blood flowing down my arm, as well as my face.

I looked up and saw a jet incoming, and Discharge fired a pair of electric missiles at me that I turned around and ran to evade. The area was torn apart in an electric explosion that sent me flying through the air, and I landed on the ground on my feet and looked around to see Discharge hovering in the air. He was several hundred feet away from me, and I sparked electricity across my sword. Discharge's weapons systems locked onto me, and as crosshairs centered on my head, I bent my knees and held my sword out.

Discharge fired four electric missiles at me, and I built up electricity into my sword, and I said, "_Chidori Barrier!_" Several enormous circuits of electricity rose up over the buildings of Saint Peters, flying high into the sky and intercepting all four of the missiles. Bursts of electricity pounded against the barrier and rose over the city, but not a volt got past as all of the electricity in the air quickly died. Discharge shot down towards me, but I sheathed my sword and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I blew out a barrage of forty tiny fireballs at Discharge, but two machine gun barrels extended out of his wings, and he fired a hailstorm of bullets that extinguished all of the fireballs.

I ran down the street as the bullets tore apart the buildings, concrete and light posts behind me. After the gunfire ceased I spun around and skidded to a stop with my hand gripping the handle of my sword, and I held my stance as Discharge closed in on me. I sparked electricity across my blade while Discharge locked his weapons onto me.

[Dan's point-of-view] There were large, black knives all over the area, embedded in buildings and in the ground. I hid behind one of the buildings while Ransack searched through the rubble on the other side. I could hear his heavy footsteps, and I peeked around to see that his back was to me. Several miles off smoke and explosions rose over the city to the north end, and gunfire echoed through the streets from the battle that Nichi and the other agents were waging. I watched Ransack search through debris, and I made some hand signs. I stepped out, and Ransack halted for a moment before spinning around, throwing a knife at me and causing me to fall to the ground.

The knife flew over me, and Ransack ran straight at me, bringing the tip of his sword down, prompting me to roll out of the way just as the blade embedded five feet into the ground. I came to my feet and ran away from Ransack, but he grabbed a knife out of the wall of a building next to him and threw it at me. I fired a pulse out of my hands directly at the ground, sending me flying up into the air and over the knife, and I landed on the roof of a building and continued running. Ransack wrenched his sword out of the ground and stomped after me, and when he got to the building I had landed on he swung his sword down, cleaving it cleanly in half and causing it to collapse to the ground.

A spinning saw flew up from below, and before Ransack could register what was happening, my sword slashed him across the face, causing him to yell in pain. As the sword came back down I grabbed it by the hilt, and I put it in my belt while I aimed my assault rifle up at Ransack. I fired a continuous stream of blasts up at him, and Ransack stumbled back as he was bombarded, holding his arms in front of him to block the red flashes. I ceased fire and pulled out a Shock Grenade, and I threw it up at Ransack's face, where it exploded and blasted him to the ground, causing him to scream in pain as pieces of his armor clattered to the ground around him.

Ransack came onto his hands and knees and glared at me with death in his eyes, and as I held my sword at my side, I looked back down at him, waiting for him to make a move. Ransack reached across his shoulder and grabbed the handle of a knife, but I pulled out my pistol and aimed it directly at his face. I pulled the trigger as Ransack held his other arm up in front of him, blocking the blast and leaving him able to swing the knife around, causing me to stumble to the ground as it flew overhead. Ransack got back to his feet and pointed his sword down at me, but I got back up as well and aimed my assault rifle up at him.

"What happens when I skewer you on the end of my blade, human?" Ransack asked me.

"I don't know, since that's not going to happen," I responded.

"It seems you are at an impasse, Special Agent Dan Mako. There is little you can do in this situation other than perish. I recommend you fall back to another location and redraw your battle strategies. It is the only hope you have."

"I am not leaving this city to be taken to ruin by you," I informed him. "I will not back down until you kill me, and you better be damn sure I won't surrender this fight."

"You humans have big talk," Ransack informed me. "There are Decepticons who are like that as well. They are usually the first to die on the battlefield. Starscream was one of those types, and look what happened to him. I can guarantee you that if you continue this fight you will not get out alive. Is that understood?" Ransack asked me.

Instead of answering, I made a sequence of hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Black Plasma Shuriken!_" I aimed my fists at him and fired off a barrage of black energy balls that trailed energy behind them as they flew at Ransack. Ransack took a step back, but being too large to dodge, took all of the _Plasma Shuriken_ head-on, having his armor torn apart while he was knocked off his feet. I lowered my arms to my side and waited, watching Ransack as he groaned in pain.

[Nichi's point-of-view] I took a step back, and blood dripped to the ground from all over my body. I looked with wide eyes at the Decepticlone Army, steadily purging all of our forces right in front of me. There wasn't a single SNIS agent that was facing less than five Decepticlones at a time, and none of them were winning. There were many robotic parts scattered across the battlefield, but there were many more corpses strewn among them. At that moment Taylor came back-to-back with me, aiming her assault rifle in front of her.

A dozen Decepticlones of all different kinds surrounded us, aiming their blasters and missiles and preparing for an all-directional bombardment. A heavy unit's head was then blown off, causing him to fall to the ground, and Erin held her sniper rifle off the edge of the overpass, looking down at the battlefield. A spider tank looked up at the overpass, and locked its four legs together and charged up its dual barrel. Erin looked out past her scope with wide eyes, and she then got up and ran down the over pass. The spider tank let loose an intense, concentrated beam of energy that tore right through the overpass, cleaving it cleanly in two and causing the entire structure to shudder.

Erin continued running towards the ground, and at that moment the entire overpass began to collapse. Enormous pieces of rubble cascaded down to the ground, smashing buildings and raising up dust clouds. Erin bolted down the overpass, heading down to Interstate 70, which was on level ground. The overpass fell out behind her, and the collapse point steadily caught up to her to where she was just barely able to get her feet off pieces that fell under her. She still had another hundred feet before she was on safe ground, and she gritted her teeth as she pressed forward.

By this point she was barely able to keep up with the overpass, and sweat was pouring down her face. The concrete was less than two inches from falling out from under her, and as Erin started praying the sound of a jet engine made her look around. An SNIS fighter flew around and came next to her, and Erin leaped off the overpass and onto the ship. The cockpit opened up, and Special Agent Whitehirst helped Erin into the backseat. When she was secure the cockpit closed, and the fighter shot off. I looked back to the invading force in front of me, and my eyes widened in horror. Many of the SNIS agents that had been fighting the Decepticlones were in danger, and the Decepticlones were now threatening to overrun us.

A set of three blasts hit me across my body, knocking me to the ground with fresh blood across my torso. I tried to crawl away, but a medium unit, serge, and shockmace all approached me, baring their weapons. A flash of light made me look around, and Taylor dropped to the ground as well, pooling blood under her. I looked back at the Decepticlone forces advancing on us, and at the troops aiming their weapons down at me.


	143. Chapter 140: Break

BREAK

The Decepticlone forces aimed their weapons down at me, but I held my arms out and discharged several bursts of electricity that knocked the troops off their feet. I stumbled back up and hobbled over to Taylor. I hoisted her over my shoulder and headed back towards the city. Multi-colored blaster fire flew in all directions around us, hitting agent and Decepticlone. I put my hand to my ear and said, "Matt!" Matt flew back and landed on the ground, and most of his armor was in pieces.

He put his hand to his ear and said, "Yeah, what is it?"

"Matt, we're getting killed out here! We can't last much longer!"

"Alright, fine, get out of there!" Matt ordered. "Head back into the city. Let the Director's traps cut down the forces. Hide out in the city and take out the Decepticlone troops from the buildings."

"Roger!" I responded. "Everyone retreat!" I called out. As one mass, the remaining SNIS agents escaped their battles and ran for the city. The Decepticlones followed us, sending a hailstorm of missiles, rockets and blaster fire. Several dozen agents fell in their retreat, and I skidded to a halt and fired off a circuit of electricity. The circuit came up above the agents, and when the back of the final agent was past it, the circuit spread outward into an enormous electric wall. The wall blocked all of the artillery following us and left the SNIS agents free to retreat.

Taylor, who was still on my shoulder got on her own feet, and she took the rear of the agents retreating. I bent my knees and braced myself, and I held my arms out in front of me and focused my power. The electric wall started building up power, and I held my position as I continued focusing on the shield while Decepticlones on the other side fired endlessly at it. After almost a minute I crossed my arms with electricity in my hands, and I threw them both outward, causing the wall to explode into an enormous cloud of dust that shrouded the area between me and the Decepticlones.

The Decepticlones continued to march forward, and within a minute they had come through the dust cloud. All of the agents had disappeared into the buildings, and the Decepticlone Army came into the city of Saint Peters, opening fire on the entire city, regardless of whether their target was animate. Within seconds buildings were on the verge of collapsing, but before any more damage could be done, dozens of turrets opened across the northern edge of the city and fired upon the Decepticlones.

The turrets fired automatic bursts of lime-green blasts, and the Decepticlones were mowed down one after the other. Heavier units fired rockets and homing missiles, and some destroyed turrets by hitting them directly while others destroyed the section of the building they were mounted on, sending the turret plummeting. The tens of thousands of Decepticlones continued to march into the city, and as the turrets continued to fire on them, the Decepticlones were too numerous to be kept at bay. A medium unit led a squad of light units marching deeper into the city, but when the squad stepped into the middle of an intersection, the ground exploded violently, blowing the entire squad to pieces.

Similar explosions all over the city ambushed Decepticlones, significantly cutting down their attack force as they continued towards the heart of Saint Peters. I watched from an afar building as the Decepticlones made their way towards me, and I came down to a kneel as I held my arms out towards them. "Open fire!" I commanded. The windows of the buildings around the Decepticlones burst apart with blaster fire that rained down on the Decepticlones. Before they could register what was happening, many of them were cut down while others ran for cover. A spider tank fired a precision beam, swinging the beam around and cleaving through six buildings, which sent their top halves collapsing down.

I fired several currents of electricity at the Decepticlone units, knocking them all down and leaving them unable to figure out where they were being attacked from. Something out of the corner of my eye made me look around, and I saw three red and white mechanical balls about four feet in diameter rolling down the road. They headed into the city, weaving in and out of McKinley's traps, and I ran after them. I jumped across buildings running parallel to the balls, and I sent a charge of electricity at the roof under my feet, sending me up into the air and then down into their path.

I landed on the ground and let out a burst of electricity to cushion my fall, and I straightened up to face the mechanical balls as they rolled to a stop. Arms and legs opened up on them, and the new Decepticlone troops aimed their dual blasters at me, one gripped in each hand.

[Dan's point-of-view] A series of small explosions echoed through the streets of Saint Peters, emanating from the northern edge of the city. I held my sword out in front of me, and Ransack charged towards me, his heavy body causing the ground to rumble under our feet. As he swung his sword down at me, I leaped into the air past him, allowing him to blast up dust and rubble from the ground, and as I came behind him I spun around and threw my buzz-saw blade at him, which spun through the air and came at the back of Ransack's neck. The sound of tearing metal echoed through the air, and I landed on the ground as my sword clattered to the dirt thirty feet in front of me.

Ransack uttered mechanical howls in pain as he stumbled back, reaching around to the large gash in the metal armor on his neck. I shot straight forward while he was distracted, and I stuck my foot out in front of me to allow myself to slide across the ground on my back. I grabbed my sword off the ground, and as I continued sliding, I swung it across Ransack's ankle, causing him to hop up and down on one foot, clutching his other as he yelled. I rolled over onto my stomach and got back to my feet, and I put my sword in my belt just before I made some hand signs. Ransack looked forward and saw a gigantic shuriken rolling across the ground towards him, and he came to the side of it to let it rumble past him while he reached around to his shoulder.

He grabbed the handle of a knife and swung it around, throwing it at me while I sent a pulse of energy that caused me to fly laterally. The knife stuck in the ground as I skidded across the earth, and I grabbed my sword out of my belt and threw it at Ransack once again. Ransack swung his own sword and batted mine out of the air as if it were made of cardboard, and he then came charging at me again. I braced myself as Ransack closed in, and I leaped into the air, coming level with Ransack's face, and I swung my sword across the bridge of his nose, cutting a shallow gash into his armor that caused him to yell in pain.

As I dropped I spun around through the air, and I landed on the ground and sprinted away from Ransack as he recovered from my attack. Ransack grabbed a knife and threw it after me, but I dove behind a building that was almost immediately destroyed by the large weapon. Giant pieces of rubble cascaded down to the ground around me, but I managed to roll out of the way of most of it, coming to the edge of the rubble pile. Ransack charged in at me with his sword swinging over his head, but I came to the side of it and let him ram the blade into the ground. The weight of the blade blasted up dirt and rubble, knocking me off my feet and causing me to hit the ground while Ransack bore down over me. I rolled onto my feet and started running away, but Ransack batted me aside with his arm, sending me smashing into the side of a building.

Pieces of rubble fell down around me, but I climbed my way out, rubbing my head while Ransack looked down at me. "You seem to be wearing out," he said to me. "Perhaps you'd like to retreat for now, and come up with a battle strategy?"

"You know," I said as I rose to my feet, "you're pretty compassionate for a Decepticon assassin."

"I simply don't enjoy stomping on ants that can't fight," Ransack admitted.

"Are you calling me an ant?" I asked him.

"You're small, and you certainly can't fight, so yes, I suppose I am," Ransack answered.

I threw a Shock Grenade up, allowing it to explode right in Ransack's face, knocking him back and sending him crashing to the ground. I held my sword at my side as I walked towards him, and Ransack growled in pain as he clutched his face.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] I flew through the air and crashed into the roof of a building, but I instantly jumped backwards out of it, flying away from Discharge. Discharge fired a burst of electricity at me, but I held my sword horizontally out in front of me and said, "_Chidori Wall!_" A current of electricity flowed out from my sword and formed a large wall in front of me, and when Discharge's attack rammed into it, my jutsu blocked the entire force of his blast. I dropped down and landed on the ground, situating a building between myself and Discharge, but the building was quickly blown apart in an electric explosion.

I crossed my arms over my face to shield myself from the rubble that flew past, and Discharge walked through the resulting blaze, looking at me with a triumphant expression. "What, do you think you've won or something?" I asked him as I electrified my sword. I swung my blade outward and fired a _Chidori Slash_ at Discharge, but he raised his arm and activated his electric shield, blocking the attack and leaving him unharmed. He looked at me for another moment before aiming his arm at me, and an electric explosion rose over the city, sending rubble cascading down across the buildings.

I hid behind a building, peering out past it in the direction the explosion had come from, and I saw a jet rising up above the rooftops. I brought my head back in behind the building, and meanwhile Discharge flew through the air, two hundred feet over the tallest building, and he started firing a barrage of electric missiles. The missiles flew in all directions, bombarding the city and decimating blocks at a time, leaving nothing but smoking craters in their places. _I'm glad he's up so high,_ I thought to myself as I held my hand out and sparked electricity into it. _Now I can take him out in one blow._ I stepped out behind the building and aimed my arm up at the sky above Discharge, causing electricity to surge across my entire limb.

"_Chidori Strike!_"

Lightning came down out of the sky right on top of Discharge, hitting him directly and blowing him to pieces, sending what was left down in a fireball. The many pieces of Discharge's broken body plummeted down to the ground, and within seconds he crashed into the roof of a building, causing the entire thing to collapse while smoke and dust blanketed the area. I walked casually over to the spot where the pillar of smoke that marked Discharge's crash site rose up, and in five minutes I came to the edge of a crater into the ground, with a ring of rubble around it. The smoke cleared, and Discharge was down to a head, one arm, and his torso.

He tried to crawl his way out of the crater, but the tip of a sword stuck in the ground right next to his face. Discharge lifted his head up to look at me, and I saw the fear and defeat in his mechanical eyes. "As a warrior with honor, I won't ask you to spare me," he stated.

"Good," I said as I electrified my sword.

[Matt's point-of-view] An entire building came collapsing down to the ground, sending dust billowing into the air, and I stood on the roof of another building, panting heavily. I had blood all over me, and there was blood staining the hilt of my sword as I clutched it in my hands. Jackhammer aimed both his guns at me and fired, and I disappeared in a burst of speed just as the top third of the building exploded. I reappeared thirty feet behind Jackhammer and fired Flashbang at him, but Jackhammer looked behind him and ducked the rockets, and he aimed one gun at me and fired. I disappeared once again, coming out right in front of his face as I swung my sword, cutting a gash across him that caused him to scream in pain.

He straightened up and backed off, and when I landed on the ground I shot straight at his torso with my sword raised. I cut my way into his body, landing in the circuits and wires of his mechanical armor, and I started cutting away at everything within reach. "Ah! Ow! You little asshole, knock that off!" After a moment Jackhammer slammed a button in the center of his chest, and a current of powerful electricity ran through his body. I was struck and left paralyzed with pain as smoke trailed off from my body, and I keeled over and fell out of Jackhammer's body, slamming into the ground at his feet.

After a minute I managed to regain the ability to move, and I started crawling away from him. As I crawled, Safeguard's armor, which was now black with scorch marks, fell off piece by piece until there was nothing left of him on me. Jackhammer laughed loudly and said, "All Transformers have the ability to run a powerful current of electricity through their bodies to avoid being tampered with from an outside force. It's kind of like the immune system you humans possess, but we voluntarily control ours."

I barely registered anything he was saying as I crawled away, and after I made it fifty feet away from him I finally managed to struggle to my feet. _Damn it,_ I thought to myself as I panted heavily. _There's no way I can beat this guy. I need some back up, because if I keep going I'm going to die. I need to get my powers—. _Tsunade stuck a syringe in my neck from behind, making my eyes widen in shock.

I looked behind me at her and uttered her name, and as she looked at me with a grin my body became surrounded in a blue aura. A magnificent explosion of chakra lit the air in an intense pillar that shook the ground. As the chakra pillar died it became replaced with smoke, and I swiped my arm through to clear it, revealing myself on my feet, standing tall, with fire trailing from my hands.


	144. Chapter 141: The Rebirth

THE REBIRTH

[Dan's point-of-view] I flew back and landed on the roof of a building, and Ransack looked at me from fifty feet away, a sword clutched in either hand. "You know, I honestly thought I had you when you were on the ground earlier," I admitted to him.

"You're lucky you still had your guard up, otherwise you'd have been dead when I attacked you," Ransack informed me.

"_Chidori Sharp Spear!_"

A circuit of electricity ran Ransack through the chest from behind, causing his eyes to widen as he groaned in pain, and Sasuke swung his sword outward, cleaving through Ransack's body and causing him to drop to the ground. Sasuke then brought his _Sharp Spear_ down and cleaved off Ransack's head, causing him to shut down completely. "You decided to help me and not Matt?" I asked him as he walked over.

"I'm not worried about him anymore," Sasuke said as he looked off in the distance.

[Matt's point-of-view] I faced Jackhammer with fire in my hands, but the flames extinguished as I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I inhaled my breath, and then let loose an enormous ball of fire that tore the ground apart on its path towards Jackhammer. Jackhammer barrel-rolled to the side of it, but I made some more hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired off a burst of flame that traveled faster than Jackhammer could react, and he was hit square in the chest and knocked off his feet, causing him to crash to the ground.

I turned around to face Tsunade, and I said, "How'd you manage to pull this one off?"

"Not easily," she answered with a grin. "It took me forever to figure out exactly what method would work in giving you your powers back," Tsunade began. "Turns out the method that would work turned out to be the most obvious one: spreading chakra throughout your entire chakra system. That was the easy part; I had to figure out how to get the chakra to spread across your body quickly, because if the amount of chakra I injected into you sat congested in your body, you'd have died in minutes. I finally managed to synthesize a new kind of cell that would circulate through your chakra system, carrying the chakra particles with them.

"This method works much in the same manner that red blood cells carry iron through the cardiovascular system. The cells are supercharged by the reactions with the chakra, which allowed them to circulate across your entire body in seconds. The rapid spread of chakra caused the explosion you just saw, and gave you your chakra back."

As soon as she finished, Sasuke and Dan landed on the ground behind me and walked over. I couldn't help but smile gleefully at Tsunade, and I knew I could never repay her for what she had just done. "But Matt, there's something you need to know," Tsunade continued. "The problem with this method is that it only gave you chakra. It didn't actually _restore_ your powers."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I mean that while you have your chakra, that's all that was given to you. Everything else is gone. You no longer possess your Curse Mark or your Sharingan."

"Good!" Sasuke said irately.

My eyes widened as this realization hit me, and I said, "So if I don't have either of those two things, does that also mean…?"

"You no longer have your dormant Rinnegan inside of you. And that means that you can no longer use jutsu from all six Chakra Natures. The only jutsu you can use are ones from your own, original Nature."

"Fire," I clarified.

"Yes," Tsunade confirmed. "Although you should still be able to use your _Flight Jutsu_, since it doesn't actually fall into a Nature."

I nodded and said, "Alright, good to know." I then turned around to face Jackhammer, who was in the process of getting back to his feet, and I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired off a barrage of thirty tiny fireballs at Jackhammer, and he stumbled back as the fireballs hit him, eventually once again being knocked back down. I then placed my hand on the hilt of my sword, and I disappeared in a burst of speed, coming out in the air right above Jackhammer's face. I swung my sword down, cleaving it with all my strength into Jackhammer's armor, and he yelled out in pain as I landed on his face, and then leaped backwards into the air.

While flying, I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu down at him, but Jackhammer managed to roll out of the way, allowing the fireball to blast out a crater into the ground next to him. Jackhammer came to a kneel and aimed a gun at me, but I super-sped out of the way, coming out behind him, bent down to the ground. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I spat out an intense jet of flames that caught Jackhammer head-on, creating an explosion of pure fire that engulfed his whole body and sent flames and embers rising into the sky.

I lowered my arms and straightened myself up, looking at the enormous blaze rising up in front of me, casting light over the battlefield. A giant, mechanical arm came out of the base of the fire, groping at the ground to try and pull itself out. Finally, what remained of Jackhammer's beaten and broken body came out of the fire, and he only had his arms and one upper leg left. Neither of his guns was in his hands, leaving him completely unarmed as I walked up to him. I pulled out my pistol and aimed it right into his eye, and when I pulled the trigger, he dropped motionless.

A small, high-pitched, mechanical noise caught my attention, and I turned around to see Safeguard reformed, but heavily damaged and on the verge of falling to pieces. "Oh, God!" I said as I ran over to him. I came onto my knees and skidded to a stop next to him, and I held him face up in my arms. Safeguard fell limp as he looked up at me, and as I looked back down at him, I examined the injuries all over his body. The scorch marks from the electric shock had burned deep down into his body, leaving two-thirds of his body unable to function. That coinciding with all of the damage he had received during the battle with Jackhammer left him utterly helpless.

Flashbang detached from my arm and transformed into his robot mode, and he bent down next to Safeguard with a solemn expression. The LED light in Safeguard's singular eye was fading, and my heart started racing. "S-Somebody help!" I yelled.

Dan ran over and bent down across from me, but as he looked down at the Mini-Con's broken body, he seemed to be at a loss as well. As Safeguard and I looked at each other, a voice spoke in my mind: _It's been an honor…to defend you._ My heart lurched, and I couldn't accept the fact that Safeguard was dying.

"Oh, God," I said again as I started panting. I then put my fingers to my ear and said, "McKinley, I need your help."

"What is it?" she responded.

"Safeguard, he's hurt. I don't know what to do," I told her.

"Open up his torso and tell me what you see," McKinley responded. As soon as she said it, Safeguard's torso opened up, revealing a mess of wires with a glass tube in the center.

"There's…there's a glass tube in the center of his body, it's like a light bulb," I told her.

"That's his power source. What does it look like?" she asked.

"Well, it's blinking red, but it's faint, and it's getting fainter," I answered. I heard McKinley sigh through the communicator, and I yelled, "McKinley, what do I do!?"

"Matt," she said consolingly, "there's nothing you can do."

"That is not an answer, McKinley! There has to be something!" I pleaded, desperation boiling.

"Matt, he's dying. Even if I were to bring him back here, I wouldn't be able to save him in time. The best you can do is comfort him until his power runs out."

I gritted my teeth as tears welled in my eyes, and I said, "Safeguard…Safeguard, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

_You…do not need…to apologize,_ Safeguard responded telepathically. _I am glad…to give my life…for you._ The voice in my head was getting fainter, and I let out a moan of helplessness. The LED light was almost gone completely, and Safeguard's body wasn't moving at all. _Good…bye._ The LED light faded completely, leaving me, Dan, and Flashbang crowded around Safeguard's body.

Flashbang dropped to his knees as he looked down, and I grabbed the sides of my head with my hands as I looked around. Dan's eyes were narrowed in grief as he looked at me, and he said, "Matt..."

Someone walked up behind me, and Sasuke put his hand on my shoulder as he looked down at me. I looked back up at him, but I remained silent. "He was a good ally," Sasuke assured me. "Make sure his death isn't in vain."

I got to my feet and wiped my eyes, then looked to the north. Several pillars of smoke were rising from the buildings, and explosions and gunfire rang out from the nearby battle. Flashbang got up and transformed back into a rocket launcher, attaching to my arm as I raised it up, massaging my wrist and looking on. Tsunade, Dan, and Sasuke all stood next to me, looking in the same direction.

"Where are Naruto and the others?" I asked Tsunade.

"They're in the village," Tsunade answered. "We're still picking up the pieces from the invasion, and being at less than half our strength doesn't help. If the situation calls for it, I'll order Team Kakashi to report to the frontlines over here. For now, I'm going to go talk to Director McKinley."

"Got it," I responded. McKinley leaped into the air and headed towards SNIS headquarters, while the three of us gripped our swords.

_[Third-person point-of-view] _McKinley was standing on the roof of SNIS headquarters at the edge, looking out at the smoke rising from the city. Tsunade landed on the roof behind her and walked over.

"I'm glad you managed to get him his powers back," McKinley answered.

"Not all the way. He'll have to train relentlessly to get back to where he was," Tsunade corrected her.

"Maybe, but he's still at a point where he can hold his own in the fight again. He just jumped his way to being the most powerful asset we have, and it's all thanks to you. Matt owes you everything, and I guarantee he'll do what it takes to repay you," McKinley said to her.

"He doesn't owe me anything," Tsunade said as she came up next to McKinley. The two of them looked out over the city, listening to the explosions echo out. "He risked his life to save my village, even when it meant putting his family in danger. The whole reason he lost his powers to begin with was because he didn't want to watch a massacre. I just barely managed to even the scale."

After a moment of thought, McKinley said, "You want him to come back to the Hidden Leaf, don't you?"

"What he does is up to him. He may have been born in the Hidden Leaf, but he's made his home here. If he chooses to remain with his family at this agency, I won't be the one to try and stop him," Tsunade responded.

"Okay, but you didn't answer my question," McKinley said, turning her head to look at her.

Tsunade exhaled and said, "Yes, I want him to come back to the village. We could use him in restoring the village. The people of the shinobi world look up to him. If he's there to show our people that he can protect them, that's something they can rally behind. If the wind blows in the right direction, the events over the next few years could spell a change in the politics of our world. He may be the one that finally leads us to peace."

"Even if it's a peace brought on by fear?" McKinley asked.

"Your country did it during the Cold War," Tsunade reminded her.

"Nuclear deterrent may be an unorthodox method to avoid fighting, but it is an effective one."

"So what happens now?" McKinley asked as the two of them looked back over the city.

"Now," Tsunade said, "we wait for the fireworks."

_[Matt's point-of-view]_ I landed on the roof of a building, shortly followed by Sasuke and Dan, and I walked over to Nichi. "Matt!" she said as soon as she saw me. She ran over and wrapped her arms around me, and while I responded similarly, when she went to hug Sasuke, he raised his arms halfway, as if he didn't know what to do.

"Alright," I said as the four of us walked to the edge of the building. "Let's end this."


	145. Chapter 142: Forward

FORWARD

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu down at a pocket of Decepticlones marching between buildings, and they were all blasted to pieces when the fireball hit the ground between them. I jumped off the roof of the building I had been standing on and landed on the ground, and I grabbed my sword and charged straight forward. As I ran I swung my sword through Decepticlone after Decepticlone, cleaving them all in two as I made my advance. Sasuke, Dan and Nichi all watched me, and Sasuke sparked electricity across the blade of his sword while Nichi electrified her hands. Sasuke disappeared in a burst of speed, and Nichi fired several bolts of electricity into the army of Decepticlones, taking out one after the other.

Dan pulled out his assault rifle and fired down at the masses, and at the same time SNIS agents hiding in the buildings around us started firing down at the Decepticlones. Their forces started dwindling down, enhanced by all of Director McKinley's traps hidden around the city, and the Decepticlones came to a point where they weren't able to mount an effective counterattack. As I ran forward, I sheathed my sword and made some hand signs, and I skidded to a halt and fired off a barrage of tiny fireballs. The fireballs came into a crowd of Decepticlones, ramming into them and knocking the smaller units off their feet.

The bigger drones managed to keep their ground, and several heavy units and spider tanks started firing back at me. I managed to block several of the shots with my sword, but one eventually hit me in the leg, putting me on my knee while the onslaught kept coming. I barrel-rolled out of the way and immediately ran for cover, but as soon as I came behind a building, two red and white mechanical spheres rolled over to me. Arms and legs opened up, and the Decepticlones stared me down, aiming their dual guns at me. These Decepticlones, known as Rollarms, waited for me to make a move, and I stood with my legs bent, arms at my sides.

I went for my gun, they fired, and I rolled to the right, coming around and firing my pistol at them. The Rollarms were equipped with broad armor plating on their forearms, which they used for shields to deflect my blaster fire. While one of the Rollarms remained in defense, the other one aimed its blasters at me and opened up a hailstorm of automatic blaster fire that left me with little room to dodge. I made some hand signs and said, "_Wind Style: Air Shield!_" I waited for the jutsu to take effect, but when nothing happened and the blasts closed in on me, my eyes widened in horror.

Circuits of electricity flew in all directions as Sasuke squatted on the ground in front of me, his sword held down in front of him, causing the blasts to have been intercepted. Sasuke straightened up and held his sword to one side, concentrating the electricity into the blade, and the Rollarms trained their blasters on him. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he swung his sword outward, firing an arc of electricity. One of the Rollarms was knocked off its feet while the other was disoriented, and I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Dragon Darts!_" I inhaled my breath, and then let out a burst of four human-sized fireballs that flew through the air, bombarding both of the Decepticlones in equal measure.

The Rollarm that was hit with Sasuke's attack had most of its armor blown off, while the other one was knocked to the ground with scorch marks in its plating. "You got this?" Sasuke asked me.

"Yeah, I'm good," I responded. He disappeared, and I aimed Flashbang at the Rollarms. The lesser damaged unit recovered almost immediately, aiming its blasters at me and preparing to fire, but I pulled the trigger first, hitting it square in the chest with a pair of rockets and knocking it off its feet. By this point the second Rollarm was getting to its feet, but I aimed my pistol at it and fired several blasts, hitting it in multiple parts throughout its body and causing it to fall onto its back. I walked up to it and stepped on its chest, keeping it down while I aimed my pistol at its face and pulled the trigger.

I stepped off the Rollarm and looked over at the second, and as it got back to its feet, I shot it square in the face, knocking it down and keeping it there. I holstered my pistol and leaped up onto a nearby roof, looking out at the battle. By this point Decepticlones had occupied almost a third of the city, and buildings were in ruins as SNIS agents attempted to fend off the robotic army. The sound of multiple jet engines made me look up, and a squad of three jet lasers flew over the battlefield, rapidly shooting down a multitude of agents on a run through our forces. I watched them fly and aimed Flashbang at them, and the pair of rockets that I fired flew behind them into open air.

The jet lasers heard the rockets, and they redirected their flight path to straight at me. They all aimed their blasters and started firing, but I dove off the side of the building, allowing their bullets to tear up the roof. As I fell I spun around to face upward with a sign weaved, and I fired three _Dragon Darts_ into the air that homed in on the jet lasers. The squadron split off in three different directions, each unit with a _Dragon Dart_ pursuing them. One of the jet lasers flew in and out of buildings, causing the _Dart_ to smash into a front wall, after which the Decepticlone flew up into open air.

The second jet laser continued to fly above the rooftops, trying desperately to evade the _Dragon Dart_. The fireball steadily closed in on the jet laser until the Decepticlone was hit and blown out of the air, sending its parts crashing down to earth in a fireball. The third and final jet laser came around behind a building, allowing the pursuing _Dragon Dart_ to fly into the front wall, blasting out a huge chunk of the building, but leaving the Decepticlone unharmed. The two remaining jet lasers came around and aimed their guns at me, but I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu out at them, but they flew around the fireball and then fired their guns down at me.

I jumped down behind a building, allowing the shots to blow holes into the roof, and I dove down and landed on the ground, then ran away from the lasers. The two drones flew around the buildings to come after me, but as they tried to get a lock with their weapons I zigzagged across the battlefield, making it impossible for them to get a clear shot. As I ran I grabbed a sign post, swinging myself around it to quickly turn the corner, and as soon as I came around the bend I screeched to a halt. A large skirmish had spread across the entire street between a platoon of SNIS agents and a battalion of Decepticlones. Explosions and blaster fire came from all sides, quickly laying waste to the buildings lining the street.

Multiple units of Decepticlones were in the battalion fighting the agents, and as soon as I came within view, a spider tank, two medium units, and a guerilla turned to me and aimed their weapons at me. I aimed Flashbang and fired it at the spider tank, and while the spider tank managed to fire off a few blasts, the rockets hit it straight in the head, causing it to become disoriented. The guerilla fired off an EMP at me, but I dove to the side of it and let it fly past, and I then rolled back to my feet and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired off a burst of flame at the guerilla, but the Decepticlone came to the side of it.

The _Nova Flame_ hit the ground right where the guerilla had been, and the resulting explosion blasted the Decepticlone into the air, sending it flying twenty feet away. The medium units opened fire on me while the spider tank recovered from the rocket impact, and I pulled my sword out and swiftly blocked all of the blasts from the medium unit. The spider tank locked its legs and charged up a precision beam, and I shot straight at him with my sword raised. I leaped into the air just as the spider tank fired the precision beam, and I came down and landed on the spider tank's head, prompting the Decepticlone to buck up and down.

Out of reflex, I grabbed ahold of one of the spider tank's dual barrels to keep on its head, and I swung my sword down and rammed the tip straight into the spider tank's head. The spider tank fired off a volley of shots in all directions before its legs buckled, and I leaped off its head just before it collapsed to the ground. I flew through the air and came down on top of a pocket of light units, and I swung my sword, slashing through a light unit while the rest trained their blaster on me. I fired Flashbang at the ground near three of them, knocking them all off their feet, and I then charged in with my sword, cleaving them all to pieces.

As soon as I finished through with my attack, I sheathed my sword and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired the jutsu at a rooftop with a group of Decepticlones situated on it, but when my _Fireball_ hit, the roof was decimated and the Decepticlones were destroyed.

[Sasuke's point-of-view] I slashed through Decepticlones one after the other, sending bursts of electricity all around me. With every attack my eyes narrowed a little bit more, and my teeth became gritted. _This isn't helping me,_ I thought to myself as I continued slashing. _None of this is getting me any closer to Itachi, and it doesn't seem like Tanzaki is in any big hurry to finish this._ I spun around and batted a missile away with my sword, and I stuck my other arm out and fired a _Chidori Sharp Spear_ straight into the core of the heavy unit that had fired the missile.

I brought my _Sharp Spear _out and let the heavy unit drop to the ground, and I then spun around once more and swung my sword at the ground, letting out a burst of electricity that destroyed a pocket of Decepticlones. _Maybe I need to remind him of our agreement,_ I thought to myself as I glared straight ahead.

[Nichi's point-of-view] Several circuits of electricity flew through the air, hitting Decepticlones and knocking them all off their feet. A troop of Decepticlones that spotted my assault fired blasters and missiles at me, but I fired off a current of electricity that took the form of a wall, blocking all of their attacks and leaving me unharmed. I focused my power into the wall, causing my hands to glow light-purple, and after a second I threw my arms outward, causing the wall to explode into a dozen arcs of electricity.

The arcs flew down upon the Decepticlones, ravaging their forces and blowing them all apart, sending smoke and dust billowing into the air. I then jumped off the roof and landed on the ground, and I ran into the thick of combat with my arms raised and electrified. All around me Decepticlones were trading blaster fire with SNIS agents, but before I could made a move, the battle was already over. A rumbling sound made me look around, and three Rollarms rolled into view and opened up their bodies to aim their blasters at me. I immediately dove out of the way as they opened fire, and I quickly crawled behind a building as they marched after me, continuing to fire.

I got to my feet and ran along the building, and I fired a circuit of electricity that knocked a Rollarm back just as it turned the corner. I came towards another building just as four jet lasers flew overhead and spotted me, and I blasted the front door of the building open and dove in right as they fired down on me. As soon as I hit the threshold I got back to my feet, closed the door, and limped down the hallway. I came down into an unfinished basement and hobbled over to a chair, then looked down at the blood flowing from my leg. The sound of shattering glass made me look towards the basement door, but I quickly looked back to my wounded leg.

[Dan's point-of-view] I stood on the roof of a building, looking down at the battle that had spanned across the entire city. Explosions and blaster fire had enveloped every block, and nowhere in sight was there a street that was unscathed by war. In all corners of my view I watched Decepticlones and SNIS agents drop in equal measure. I had no eyes on Nichi, but on one side of the city massive waves of fire washed over the buildings, while on the other side circuits of electricity shot into the sky. As I surveyed the battle the sound of multiple thrusters made me turn to see four jet lasers aiming their blasters at me. I pulled my sword out of my belt and held it out to them.

[Matt's point-of-view] I spat out a burst of flames that destroyed a small pocket of Decepticlones, and as I panted lightly as I stood watching the fire rise off the ground. Two blasts hit me in the arm, knocking me off my feet as a spider tank marched forward, aiming its blaster down at me. I aimed Flashbang and fired a pair of rockets, disorienting the spider tank while I got back to my feet. I aimed Flashbang once again, but before either of us could attack, a surge of electricity hit the spider tank, causing it to collapse to the ground and shut offline. Sasuke walked out from behind the spider tank's body as he sheathed his sword, and he was glaring at me with death in his eyes.

"Uhh, what's wrong?" I asked him as I relaxed my arm.

"This is pointless, Tanzaki," Sasuke informed me. "I'm leaving to go search for Itachi."

"What did you just say?" I said to him as I walked forward, resting my hand on the hilt of my sword.

"You heard me. This little venture of yours isn't bringing me any closer to _my_ goals. Killing Itachi is the only thing I care about, and if you're not gonna help me with that, then you're no good to me."

"You said you'd stay until the war was finished," I reminded him as my eyes narrowed.

"I changed my mind. I'm done with this, and I'm leaving," Sasuke responded.

"You are not going anywhere," I corrected him as I tightened my grip on my sword.

"Tch, what, are you gonna try and stop me?" Sasuke asked without a guard up.

"And here I was, thinking you had changed," I said as I continued to approach him. "I thought you began to care about the people around you and see yourself as one of them. I guess I was wrong. Sasuke, I'm not gonna let you just walk out of here when we need you. So if you intend to leave this war and go find Itachi, then yes. I _will_ stop you." I pulled my sword partially out of its scabbard, and as I glared at Sasuke, I said, "This is the end."


	146. Chapter 143: Torn Apart

Sorry about the lack of posts recently. I've been a busy guy. Hopefully I can get back on top of it though.

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TORN APART

"Tanzaki," Sasuke said to me. "You're a smart person. You should know that you won't be able to beat me."

"Is that so?" I said as I pulled my sword out of my scabbard. Sasuke pulled his own sword out as well, and we both stood there glaring at each other. "Don't leave us," I said to him. "Help us through this battle, and I swear to you, I will help you find Itachi."

"I don't believe you," Sasuke said frankly.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because you don't care about killing him as much as I do," Sasuke answered. "I saw it the very first time you met him. You attacked Itachi, and you tried your very best to take him down, but it wasn't for revenge. Your only motivation was the threat he posed to your family, and that is it. I know for a fact that if you were to face him one-on-one, you would never pursue him. It's plain and simple, Tanzaki, you're not concerned with killing him."

I pondered this for a moment, and I then said, "Fine. You're right, I don't care. I don't like Itachi, and I certainly wouldn't mind if he got killed, but I'm not going to go out of my way to do it. But still, Sasuke, stay here and help us! We need you!"

Sasuke looked at me with a solemn look, and after a moment he said, "Goodbye, Brother." He turned around and took a step in the other direction, and I brought my sword down on top of him from directly behind. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he spun around and slammed his sword into mine with all his force, knocking me back and sending me skidding fifteen feet across the ground. I came to a stop with my sword held out in front of me, and I was glaring at him with pure hate. Sasuke pointed the tip of his sword at me, and the entire blade became shrouded in electricity.

"Fine, Tanzaki," Sasuke said. "If I'm really so important to you that you'll risk your ability to fight this war in order to get me to stay, I'll oblige. _Chidori Sharp Spear!_" A circuit of electricity shot off his sword at me, but I came to the side of it and aimed Flashbang, firing a pair of rockets at him. "_Chidori Senbon!_" Sasuke swiped his sword through the air, firing off dozens of tiny electric needles that intercepted the rockets, detonating them while leaving many needles to fly at me. I leaped into the air over the needles, and while airborne I sheathed my sword and made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I fired my jutsu down at him, and as the fiery light cast over him, Sasuke sheathed his own sword and made hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" The fireball that he breathed out was far bigger than mine, and the two jutsu collided in midair, sending sparks and embers flying in all directions. The pressure of the flames pounding against each other kept me in the air, and as Sasuke and I battled, his jutsu quickly began overwhelming mine. My eyes narrowed as I watched this happen, and I pulled a shuriken out of my pocket and threw it into the flames. The shuriken flew down towards Sasuke, who saw it coming and reached for his sword handle. Sasuke pulled his sword out of his belt and electrified the blade, and when he swung it through the flames, the electricity reacted with the flames.

The explosion tore the very air apart, leaving an enormous pillar of smoke to billow out of an equally gigantic crater. I laid at the edge of the smoke cloud on my side, and I then looked up through half-opened eyes to see the smoke blocking out the sun. Thirty feet up, something came out of the smoke, and Sasuke held his sword to one side, and as he swung it outward, a wave of needles shot down at me. My eyes narrowed for a second before widening in horror, and I rolled to my feet and dove to the side, letting the needles embed themselves in the ground where I had been. I skidded to a halt and made some hand signs, and I fired a _Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ up at Sasuke as he came down at me.

Sasuke held his sword down towards the _Phoenix Flower,_ and he said, "_Chidori Armor!_" A circuit of electricity shrouded his entire body, and all of the fireballs were extinguished on contact while he continued his descent. I jumped back through the air as he came down and smashed into the ground, bringing up dust and electricity. Sasuke straightened up as electricity flowed around him, and he swung his sword outward, firing a _Chidori Slash_ at me while I was still in the air. I held my own sword out in defense, but when the _Chidori Slash_ hit, the force of the attack sent me flying back and smashing into a building.

Sasuke tore across the ground with his sword trailing behind him, and when he came within range, he leaped up, electrified his sword, and swung it with all his force into the crater I had punched into the building. Circuits of electricity blasted out on all sides of the building as dust smashed out the opposite side, and I flew out of the building and smashed into the ground. I slid across the earth, tearing a broad line apart as I went, but I finally managed to roll to my feet, and I put the tip of my sword in the ground as I skidded backwards. A burst of electricity blasted out of the roof of the building, and Sasuke came straight up into the air, glaring across a hundred feet at me as I stood hunched over.

While still in the air, Sasuke sheathed his sword and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" He blew out a torrent of intense fire down at me, and the fiery light reflected off my eyes as I prepared for it to come. At the last second I leaped up into the air, allowing the jutsu to form a sea of flames under me, and while in the air I made some hand signs. A stream of continuous chakra burst out of the bottoms of my feet, and as I shot straight at Sasuke, I aimed Flashbang at him. I fired a pair of rockets at him, but Sasuke made some hand signs and threw his hands out.

"_Chidori Wall!_" A current of electricity ran off his hands and formed a wall in front of him, and the rockets ran straight into it, leaving Sasuke unharmed. Sasuke grabbed his sword and swung it out of its scabbard, bringing the electrified blade through the _Chidori Wall_ and firing a _Chidori Slash_ at me. I flew up and let the _Slash_ fly under me, and as I approached Sasuke I made some hand signs.

"_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I was within ten feet of Sasuke when I lit off my jutsu, and he could only cross his arms with sword in hand and spark a circuit of electricity around his body. The flames hit him head-on and drove him back through the air, and I reached into my pocket and pulled out a kunai knife. I threw the knife at the flames, and when the kunai was enveloped, the paper-bomb wrapped around the handle detonated. The resulting explosion blasted the air and extinguished the _Nova Flame_, sending a trail of smoke down and crashing into the ground. I brought my legs down and hovered in the air, looking down at the pillar of smoke trailing up from where Sasuke landed, but after a second a barrage of human-sized fireballs burst out.

The fireballs shot up at me from multiple angles, and I flew back a few feet before turning around and shooting off. The fireballs followed me through the air, and as I fled I started making hand signs for _Water Style: Liquid Bullets_, but then I remembered. I gritted my teeth as I lowered my arms, and I continued fleeing the jutsu. My eyes widened as Sasuke swung his electrified sword down on top of me, and a burst of electricity blasted me down and sent me smashing into the ground. Sasuke dropped down on top of me with his sword in his hand, but he then sheathed his sword and made three hand signs. A ball of lightning appeared in the palm of Sasuke's hand, and as he came down on top of me with _Chidori_ in tow, the dust around me cleared.

I was kneeled on the ground with blood running down my face, and as I looked up at Sasuke with a glare, I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I drew in my breath and let out a tremendous stream of white-hot flames up at Sasuke, and his eyes widened as he crossed his arms over his face. The _Dragon Flame Jutsu_ hit him head-on, causing fire to wash over him and consume him completely. Sasuke dove headfirst out of the flames, with his arms crossed over his face, and as he dropped laterally to me, he glared back at me with his _Sharingan _activated. I made a hand sign, causing a stream of continuous chakra to come out of my feet, and after a moment I shot straight at Sasuke as he continued to fall.

Sasuke electrified his blade and swung it outward, firing a _Chidori Slash_ at me, but I flew to the side of it and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" I blew out my jutsu at him, but Sasuke continued to dive down, letting the fireball fly over him as he came towards the ground. I flew down after him and aimed Flashbang at him, but Sasuke looked over his shoulder and saw what I was doing. In response he spun around through the air to face me, and he aimed his electrified arm at me.

"_Chidori Sharp Spear!_" He fired a circuit of electricity up at me, and the _Sharp Spear_ came so quickly that I was just barely able to react. I managed to come down a few inches so that the circuit grazed my shoulder, spattering blood in the air behind me, but nevertheless I aimed Flashbang down and fired a pair of rockets at Sasuke. Sasuke sheathed his sword and made some hand signs, and he fired a _Fire Style: Ember Shot _up at the rockets. The _Ember Shot_ hit the rockets and exploded, detonating them both and sending several tiny fireballs up at me. I pulled out my sword and blocked all of them, and continued to come down on top of Sasuke.

Sasuke landed on the ground and pulled out his sword, electrifying the blade as he held it up in preparation for my arrival. As I came down on top of him, I held my sword out, and when I was within range, we swung our swords at each other with all our strength.

[McKinley's point-of-view] My teeth were gritted as Tsunade and I looked in the direction of the plumes of smoke that were rising up from the city. A massive explosion rose up above the buildings, taking trees and chunks of rubble with it, and a massive cloud of smoke polluted the air over the battleground that Matt and Sasuke were fighting in. My eyes narrowed in anger, but Tsunade watched the scene with a casual expression, displaying no emotion whatsoever.

"You knew this was going to happen," I commented.

"I had my suspicions," she confirmed. "Those two maybe from the same parents, but they couldn't be more different. Sasuke only cares about the past, and avenging those that he lost. Matt lives in the present, and he's focused on protecting the lives of those currently around him. He and Naruto are a lot alike in that respect."

A blast of flames tore through a square block in a flash, and Tsunade continued to casually observe while my jaws were clenched together.

[Nichi's point-of-view] With my hands electrified, I bent down and placed my palms on the ground, unleashing a current of electricity that traveled across the earth. The electricity ravaged several Decepticlones in front of me and blasted them to pieces, leaving me with a clear field. The sound of several tiny thrusters made me look around, and several jet lasers flew towards me, aiming their blasters at me. Several disks of black energy flew up from behind a building behind the jet lasers and pursued them through the air, and one-by-one the jet lasers were blown out of the air. They all flew past me before crashing into the ground in a ball of fire, and Dan appeared behind me with his sword held at his side.

Right at that moment a tremendous wave of fire rose into the air in the distance, pounding against several circuits of electricity that appeared to be blocking it. My eyes widened as I witnessed this, and I said, "What is going on over there?"

Dan looked on in shock as well, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it."

[Matt's point-of-view] As flames and electricity flowed out of the contact point between our swords, Sasuke pressed a sword surrounded in electricity against my own sword, a sword with a blade that was engulfed in fire.


	147. Chapter 144: The Phoenix and the Pegasus

Well, I attempted to post this on Saturday, but apparently I messed something up, because it didn't go live. Whoops.

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THE PHOENIX AND THE PEGASUS

I pressed down with all my strength, and the flames surrounding the blade of my sword let out a powerful burst that blasted Sasuke back, sending him smashing through a building and out the other side. The flames and lightning in the air around us ceased, and I drew my sword back as I prepared to attack, and then shot through the air in the direction Sasuke had flown. Sasuke straightened himself up as he raised his sword, and he disappeared in a burst of speed as he came into the air, swinging his sword at mine.

Flames and electricity once again burst out of the contact point, although in a much smaller quantity, and I completed my slash and swung a second time. Sasuke blocked the second strike as well, and he swung his foot into my side, knocking me through the air and sending me crashing into the top of a building. Sasuke swung his sword around and fired a _Chidori Slash_ after me, and the attack blasted me while I was still on the building, sending me flying off the opposite side and crashing into the ground.

I jumped back out of the resulting dust cloud with my sword held out to my side, and Sasuke appeared behind me and swung his sword down on top of me, unleashing a powerful burst of electricity that blasted me down and sent me smashing into the ground. A wave of flames shot up out of the resulting dust cloud at Sasuke, but he held his electrified sword down and intercepted the attack. The flames flew past on either side of him, and Sasuke swung his sword through them, dispersing the fire completely and leaving him unharmed. I shot straight up at him from the dust with my sword held to one side, and I swung my blade around, colliding it into his own, and the force of my strike drove Sasuke back through the air.

As I pushed him back, the flames around my sword intensified, and I unleashed a massive blast that knocked Sasuke out of the air. As he plummeted to the ground, he aimed his hand up at me and fired a _Chidori Sharp Spear_, but I intercepted it with my sword and knocked it over my head. The instant I was clear of Sasuke's attack, I shot down at him with my sword raised, and he retracted his _Sharp Spear_ and held his own sword out to defend himself. I rammed my blade into his with all my strength, driving him down and smashing him into the ground.

I drove Sasuke across the ground, tearing the earth apart in a broad line as we went, and as I held him down with one arm, I swung my sword down and hit him with a massive burst of flames, bringing waves of fire up into the air over us. Sasuke appeared thirty feet in the air over me, and he swung his sword and fired an enormous burst of electricity at me. I spun around and swung my sword into the burst, managing to fend it off until the pressure that built up caused it to explode, tearing the ground apart and sending me flying back across the ground. Sasuke dropped down, and the instant his foot touched the ground he shot off after me, and I smashed through several buildings before regaining my balance in the air.

I put my feet on the ground and skidded backwards across it, bringing up dust in front of me as I went. Sasuke appeared in the air directly over me and swung his sword across, blasting me with electricity in smashing up dust into the air. I flew laterally out of the dust and crashed through another building, and as I rolled across the ground, I kicked my feet down, springing myself into the air as I flew back. Sasuke appeared directly in front of me and rammed his sword into mine, and he drove me down and put me on the ground, but I stood strong as we pushed our blades against each other. Flames and electricity began pouring out on all sides of us, but eventually Sasuke put his other hand on the hilt of his sword.

My eyes widened as fiery-red marks spread across his body, and as the marks faded to black, Sasuke's Curse Mark doubled the strength that he had on his sword. I had to put my hand on the back of the blade to give myself extra defense, but Sasuke pressed down on me with all his strength, and I was just barely able to stand my ground. Sasuke unleashed a burst of power from his sword that blasted up dust around us, but I still just barely managed to keep my defense up. Sasuke continued pressing down on me, and at that point his chakra started to grow gradually denser and denser. My feet began to dig into the ground from the weight of his attack, and after about a minute the electricity in the air all around us faded from light-blue to purple.

The instant this happened a massive explosion blasted smoke, dust, and rubble fifty feet over the rooftops of Saint Peters, and pieces of buildings rained down across the battlefield. A line of dust gouged out the ground as I was driven back, and I smashed through a building and caused the entire thing to collapse to the ground. As I continued to skid back on my feet, Sasuke appeared behind me and swung his sword down on top of me, letting out a massive burst of purple electricity that tore the ground apart in a huge explosion. I flew out of the top of the resulting smoke cloud, eyes closed and body limp, and Sasuke shot out after me with electricity concentrated into the blade of his sword.

"Still think you can win?" he yelled up to me as he closed the distance. He swung his sword across my body, and an intense circuit of electricity shot through the air over the battlefield, catching the attention of every fighter in the city, whether sentient or artificial. The electric circuit faded, and a trail of smoke dropped down and crashed into the ground while Sasuke descended down as well. Sasuke landed on a rooftop on the outskirts of the crater I had punched into the ground upon landing, and he looked on as dust billowed into the air.

"You're not all that tough without your _Rinnegan_, are you?" he said to me as he held his sword at his side. I was on one knee as I looked up at him, and I panted heavily while trails of blood ran down my face. I reignited the flames around my sword, and I fired an arc of fire at Sasuke, who batted it away with his own sword as if it were nothing. As soon as his arm cleared his line of sight, I was in the air right in front of him, and I swung my sword down on top of him. An almost-vertical wall of purple electricity kept fire at bay as it blew back into the air, and I pressed down on Sasuke with all my strength, but he stood his ground effortlessly.

Sasuke swung his sword, shoving me back through the air, and we both concentrated out respective elements into our swords before swinging and firing arcs at each other. Electricity overwhelmed flames as intense currents blew past the contact point of the two arcs at me, and I crossed my arms over my face in defense. Sasuke shot straight through the resulting smoke cloud at me with purple electricity trailing from his sword, and when he came within range, he swung his sword with all his strength. Even though I held my own sword out in defense, the blast of electricity that he unleashed knocked me back through the air and sent me into the side of a building.

As the dust billowed into the air around me, I took a stand inside the crater I had punched into the building, and I held my sword out with the tip pointed at Sasuke. "You don't know how to stay down, do you?" Sasuke asked as he braced himself to charge. He swung his sword directly down on top of me, and the force of the attack blasted out the building behind me, sending the entire thing collapsing to the ground as dust billowed into the air. I flew with the aid of _Flight_ out of the dust cloud as chunks of rubble rained down, and Sasuke appeared on a large piece that flew nearby, and he aimed the tip of his sword at me.

I swung my own sword and fired an arc of flames at him, but he ducked down so that it flew over his head, and while squatted down he sheathed his sword and made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" He fired out an onslaught of tiny fireballs through the rubble at me, and I flew back and forth through the air, evading every single one as it came while trying not to get caught across the face by a stray boulder. While I was distracted with Sasuke's jutsu, he snuck straight past my guard and came to my side with the tip of his sword aimed at my gut, but I managed to jump to the side as he grazed my side.

I came back and fired Flashbang at him, but Sasuke knocked the rockets aside and stepped in towards me, and as I brought my sword around to defend myself, Sasuke swung upwards with all his strength. My sword flew up into the air, and I stood defenseless, my arms having been forced up over my head so that I was wide open for Sasuke's attack. Sasuke swung his sword outward and blasted me with electricity, sending me flying through the air before I descended down and crashed into the ground. When the dust cleared, I stood my ground, unarmed and heavily wounded, but my eyes widened as a wave of purple electricity flew down at me from the air. Purple electricity flowed down the streets of Saint Peters, shattering windows and destroying trees and cars as it flowed like a tidal wave.

I appeared on the roof of a building, looking around for Sasuke, and my eyes widened as he appeared behind me with his sword held over his head. My wide eyes looked into his expressionless ones, and he swung his blade down at me with all his strength, causing an explosion of electricity to send large currents straight up into the air over the city. I flew backwards at an upward angle of the smoke that billowed out as a result, and I had my arms crossed over my face in defense. The smoke parted as Sasuke stood on the ground a hundred feet below me, and electricity flowed out of the blade of his sword while he looked up at me, and even at this distance, he looked directly into my eyes.

"Tanzaki," he called up to me. "You might want to start running, because I don't know if you're gonna be able to survive this one." The electricity flowing out of Sasuke's sword began to concentrate in the air above him, and at that moment, I started making hand signs. The purple electricity started to take shape above Sasuke, and he braced his stance, tightening the grip around his sword. I started building up chakra inside my body, and Sasuke's electricity took the form of a gigantic tiger, rising fifty feet into the air. Although while the front half had definite shape, the back half was still shapeless electricity trailing down to Sasuke.

An aura of chakra burst to life around my body, and it raged around me like blue fire, and I drew in my breath. Sasuke brought his sword to one side, and he said, "_Chidori Jizo!_" The electric tiger disappeared in a flash, the electricity flowed down into Sasuke's sword, which he threw forward and unleashed a stream of electricity that pounded the air as it flew up at me.

"_Fire Style: Flame of the Phoenix!_" I let out my breath and exhaled a tremendous stream of fire that took the shape of a phoenix as it shot down at Sasuke. _Flame of the Phoenix_ collided with _Chidori Jizo_, and the shockwave that the impact caused shook the air like gods in combat. The fire and electricity pounded against each other over Saint Peters, and their power gradually tore apart buildings and streets around us. As pieces of rubble floated up into the air around us, I continued blowing out a stream of fire, and the pressure caused by our jutsu kept me in the air.

Sasuke held his hilt with both hands, keeping every ounce of power he could muster into his attack. Our jutsu continued to fight each other in the air, bringing down the city around us, and fire and electricity gradually built up into an enormous cloud in the center of us. Sasuke and I kept both our powers going as strong as we could, and the core of the fire-and-electricity cloud between us started to glow white. A shockwave rumbled the ground under us, and Sasuke's eyes narrowed as mine widened in horror, and white light began to overcome the cloud of fire and electricity. All in the blink of an eye, the cloud reduced to a ball of white light, and then exploded outwards with the force of a warhead.

Buildings were reduced to rubble as a ring of pure shockwave shot out from the blast site, tearing through the city and destroying everything it came across.

[Nichi's point-of-view] I looked on with wide eyes as the smoke and flames rose hundreds of feet over Saint Peters, and the booms of a city being torn apart came closer and closer. "_Nichi!_" Dan landed right in front of me and tackled me to the ground right before the shockwave came over us, destroying all of the buildings around us and leaving us in a cloud of dust.

[McKinley's point-of-view] "What the hell have they done?" I asked in horror as I watched Saint Peters topple to the ground.

Tsunade and I both looked on with wide eyes as the shockwave came closer to us, and after a moment, Tsunade said, "We need to get out of here!" The two of us turned around and started running for an open hatch in the roof of SNIS, and we both jumped down it just as the shockwave came.

An enormous pillar of smoke rose into the sky above Saint Peters, stemming from the center of a crater in the earth that spanned a third of the city.


	148. Chapter 145: Ruined

Just a little bit of trivia on what's happening in my world; I've long since completed Naruto Chronicles. I finished the series in early November, and ever since then I've been working on updating the wiki. That said, I haven't written any new material in the past seven months. It's gonna take me a while to get the wiki fully up to date (long past the point when the series will have ended, unfortunately), but I'm looking forward to getting back in the game and working on some of the other projects I have going. If anyone reading this wants to help build up the wiki, just go to narutochronicle wikia com (put dots instead of spaces) and start working. You won't be getting paid for it, but if you enjoy the series, it would be nice to have an encyclopedia on it that is completely up to date. Anyway, just a little insight on what's happening with me right now; enough blabbing.

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RUINED

_[Third-person point-of-view]_ A pillar of smoke billowed into the air from the tremendous scar punched into the ground of Saint Peters. Not a single building had been left standing within three miles of the blast site, and piles of rubble were left all over the ground in the crater. In one pile, the rubble shifted, and Dan shoved a piece aside to allow himself and Nichi to get to their feet. Dan's shirt was in shreds, and there were streams of blood all over his back. He panted heavily as he looked at Nichi, who looked around with wide eyes. She then looked at Dan, as if she had just noticed him for the first time, and she said, "Oh, God!"

"We're gonna need to get Tsunade, quickly," Dan said to her in a soft voice.

The SNIS headquarters, which lay just on the outskirts of the blast site, managed to remain standing through the explosion, but every single window had been blown out, and there were major cracks in the structure. McKinley and Tsunade stumbled to a window facing the direction of the explosion, and what they saw made McKinley's stomach clench. A building that had had half of its structure destroyed stood between them and the massive crater that had been blown in the center of the city.

"Oh, my Lord!" McKinley said in horror as she looked around at the ruined city.

"Kat, we need to get out there! There are people who are going to need medical attention!" Tsunade reminded her as she grabbed McKinley's arm.

McKinley looked at Tsunade through fearful eyes, but after a second she nodded. Tsunade leaped out the window into the city, and McKinley put her finger to her ear. "All able-bodied medical personnel go into the warzone and tend to any living SNIS combatants in the area," she ordered. "Anticipate heavy casualties, and expect Decepticlone resistance. Make sure to clear every area before you begin operations."

In another area of the city, Sasuke sat on the ground, panting heavily. His clothes were torn, and blood drenched his body. He remembered back to the instant of the explosion, when he had managed to use _Chidori Armor_ on himself to withstand the brunt of the blast. After a moment, he managed to get back to his feet, albeit on shaky legs, and he walked over to his sword, picked it up, and started walking. Blood dripped to the ground with each step, and his vision was blurred as he continued to move slowly forward.

Nichi ran at full speed before throwing her knees out and skidding across the ground, coming to a stop next to Matt. His shirt had been blown off completely, and his torso had been torn open, with a gash spanning from his clavicle down to his lower ribs on the opposite side. There was blood spewing out of his mouth, and Matt coughed as his body lurched violently.

"Matt," Nichi said in desperation as she held him in her lap. Blood quickly stained her jeans as she tried to calm him down, and tears started coming out of her eyes. Dan ran over and bent down next to him, and as Nichi looked at him in horror, she said, "I don't know what to do!"

"Nichi!" Nichi looked around, and her eyes and mouth widened as Tsunade ran over. She came to a knee alongside them, looking down at Matt. "Damn, this is really bad," Tsunade commented as she gritted her teeth.

"Can you heal him?" Nichi asked anxiously as tears continued pouring down her face.

"Set him down, and I'll see what I can do," Tsunade requested. Nichi set Matt down on the ground and got up, giving Tsunade room to examine his injuries. "Do either of you know what happened?" Tsunade asked as she took some gauze out of a medical bag attached to her waist.

"No, I don't have a clue," Nichi asked as she looked down at Matt. Tsunade made some hand signs and put her hands to Matt's chest wound, and her hands became shrouded in green chakra.

After a moment, Tsunade said, "Yeah…yeah, I think I'm just in time." Some of the blood started to clear from the wound itself, and small amounts of scabbing gradually formed.

After a moment, Matt started coughing and sputtering, and he wiped the blood from his mouth with his arm. "Stay down for a few more seconds, Matt," Tsunade told him. Regardless, Matt rose to a sitting position, leaving Tsunade with no choice but to back off and let him rise.

Matt reached into his back pocket and pulled out a tiny, corked vial, inside of which was a green liquid. "I didn't know you still carried those," Tsunade said with a small grin.

"Do you have any idea how many times these things have saved my life?" Matt said as he pulled out the cork. He drank half the bottle, causing the gash across his torso to close completely, leaving nothing but a small scar tracing where the wound had been. Matt put the cork back into the vial and got to his feet, and he wiped some of the blood off his skin.

"Are you okay?" Nichi asked him.

"I think so," Matt answered.

"What on earth happened?" Tsunade asked.

"Sasuke got sick of helping us, and he wanted to leave to go find his brother," Matt explained. "I tried to stop him, and I guess it got out…of…." It was then that Matt took the time to look around him, and his speech faltered as his eyes slowly widened.

_[Matt's point-of-view]_ Bricks landed in my stomach as I witnessed the devastation, and sweat started to form on my face. "Wh…Where are we?" I asked in a horrified tone.

"Matt," Nichi said to me, "this is Saint Peters."

"No!" I said angrily. "There's no way! There's no way we can still be in Saint Peters! There's nothing…" I stumbled forward before falling to my knees, hands grasping my head, and I looked out in front of me, suppressing the urge to scream. "There's nothing left," I finished my statement, my arms falling to my sides.

Nichi, Tsunade and Dan all looked at me in sympathy, but I didn't pay them any notice. I took in the environment, what was left of my city, and I couldn't believe what my eyes were telling me. I then gritted my teeth, a look of pained agony on my face, and I got back to my feet and walked back towards them. "Where's Sasuke?" I asked angrily.

"I don't know," Nichi answered. "I haven't seen him since we separated after you got your powers back."

"I'm going to find him," I declared.

"And what are you gonna do when you do?" We all looked around to see McKinley marching towards us, and she was looking at me with an expression that mixed anger with accusation.

"I'm gonna take him out once and for all," I answered.

"Yeah, and how are you gonna do that?" she asked. "You've already proven you can't control yourself in a battle with him. If you fight him again, you'll just destroy the rest of the city. Matt, I'm not going to let you do that."

"What, you think this was _my_ fault?" I asked with a raised voice.

"No, I think half of it was," McKinley answered, her voice equally raised.

"McKinley, you are not gonna stop me with this!" I informed her heatedly.

"Fine, Matt, go! Go and find Sasuke, battle him again! Do exactly the thing that you were trying to keep him from doing, and while you're at it, do the very same thing that you were trying to keep the Decepticlones from doing! Abandon us to go accomplish your own goals, and destroy your city in the process Matt! Isn't that exactly what you were trying to prevent in this war?"

My eyes were wide, and my jaw was slightly agape as McKinley's words bounced around in my skull. "I can't…" I finally managed, "I can't just…let him get away with this!"

"What's more important to you, Matt? Chasing down a brother you didn't even know you had until seven months ago, or helping defend the city you grew up in?" McKinley asked me.

I faltered, not knowing what to say to this. I looked around at Nichi, Dan and Tsunade, and they were all looking at me, silently questioning what my decision would be. My mouth started to form words, but I remained silent for a moment before saying, "F-Fine. I'll stay here and help clear out the rest of the Decepticlones," I said to them.

"That's a good decision, Matt," Tsunade assured me. "I'm going to contact the Leaf and tell them to bring reinforcements," she informed us.

"Don't bother," I told her. "By the time they get here, this thing will be over." Tsunade looked at me with a compliant expression, and she and the others waited for me to assess the situation. "Do you have an idea of the casualty rate for either side?" I asked McKinley.

"I have several teams of SNIS medical personnel tending to the wounded. I've gotten a few reports via communicator of what they've seen. It looks like at least eighty agents were killed in the explosion, but they've only processed about a third of the blast site." My throat and stomach clenched up again at these words. Over eighty lives had been lost due to my reckless actions. The more I thought about it, the more I couldn't avoid the truth of the matter. When Sasuke had told me he was leaving, I could have just let him go. If I had, we never would have fought each other, and none of this ever would have happened.

With all said and done, the devastation that had befallen Saint Peters was entirely my fault, and no one else's. Sasuke had just been defending himself from my overreaction, and because I attacked him, dozens of lives had been lost. The weight of this on my shoulders made me want to run. I had killed countless people who were risking their lives to defend the town I called home, over something so insignificant.

"Matt, there is good news out of this," McKinley assured me. I looked at her with wide eyes, and secretly I knew that nothing could make up for this. "According to the reports I'm receiving, it appears that nearly every single Decepticlone drone in the area has been destroyed by the blast. Matt, you've single-handedly won the war for our side. I haven't had any reports of significant Decepticlone activity anywhere within a mile of the blast site. All we're seeing is singular units trying to regroup with each other. As soon as we're able to recover our forces, we'll send teams of scouts out to search the rest of Saint Peters and the surrounding towns.

"We did lose a lot today, but Matt, we've finally managed to finish the Decepticlone Army once and for all, and we have you to thank for it."

It took me a minute to process this, during which I was silent. After a year of fighting them, I had a difficult time believing that we were finally done combating the Decepticlones. I then remembered something, and I said, "This isn't over yet."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"There's still one more battle, and it's gonna be the one that finally ends this war," I explained.

McKinley's eyes narrowed in realization, and she said, "We need to prepare. With his entire force out of commission, he'll be making his move soon. We need to be ready when he arrives."

At that moment, a loud shriek pierced the air, and we all looked up to see a black object descending down on us from the sky. "Scatter!" I yelled. We all ran in different directions, and the object dispatched eight smaller objects that circled it as they all came down. All nine objects crashed into the ground, and when the dust from the impacts cleared, embedded in the ground were a bunch of small, mechanical objects elliptical in shape. They all circled a much larger version of themselves, and as we examined them, orbs on the top of them began to glow purple. We all kept our distance, and the orbs fired off beams that connected in the air and formed a massive holographic screen that rose twenty feet in the air and spanned thirty-two feet across.

Plastered in the screen was an object obscured in darkness, which had two glowing, red eyes peering out. "I offer you my congratulations upon managing to dispatch such a large battle force so quickly," Megatron said to us.

"Thanks, now are you gonna come down here so we can finish it?" I asked as I stepped forward.

"Oh, you can be assured that I will be making my arrival onto the battlefield shortly, but I must make preparations before that happens. You must understand, I have not engaged in battle for several centuries. Rest assured, however, when I arrive to draw the curtain on this conflict, I will be in prime condition. Keep only your finest warriors for this; send everyone else away. I have no use for slaughtering vermin who cannot defend themselves. The only ones I am interested in battling are the ones who have managed to eliminate my elite Decepticon forces.

"I shall address by name the ones that I am interested in fighting: Nichole Schroeder, Daniel Mako, Sasuke Uchiha, and Tanzaki Uchiha. Prepare yourselves for my arrival so that we may have a grand final battle. I hereby give you a reprieve from battle so that you may treat your wounded and bury your dead. I will make my arrival in exactly two hours. The four warriors who have managed to make it to the top of my opposition, arrive at the city center upon the designated time, or I will proceed to destroy what's left of your city. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah, crystal," I answered.

"Excellent," Megatron declared. "Then I await a great battle."

With this, the communication was cut, and the orbs on the devices faded to black. I watched the spot in the air where Megatron's face had disappeared, and determination flared through my body like a raging fire.

"That was quite the presentation. I look forward to witnessing the final fight between you." I looked around with a confused expression for the source of the voice, and as I looked to the roof of a nearby building, my face fell to pure shock.

Long, black hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing a black cloak with red clouds imprinted on it, onyx eyes looking down at me, Itachi Uchiha sat on the edge of the roof with a grin on his face.


	149. Chapter 146: Dark Angel

DARK ANGEL

_(Previously)_ "I've been looking for you," I said to Sasuke as I rose to my feet and brushed myself off.

"Your entire life is a lie," he said to me. "Your name is not Mathew Withau. You are Tanzaki Uchiha, and you and I…are brothers." "What the hell are you smoking?" I said, failing to fight the urge to crack up laughing.

"_Genjutsu: Memories Reverted!_"

Hiruzen and I came to two kids playing, who ran over as soon as they saw him. My eyes slowly widened, and I was unable to believe what I was seeing. Sasuke, as well as a younger version of myself conversed with the Third Hokage.

My younger version's eyes drooped, and I fell into Hiruzen's arm. Hiruzen and I turned around to see a kid sitting on a wall. He was about thirteen, and had long, black hair tied back into a ponytail. "His memory's been modified," Hiruzen informed the boy. "Thank you, Lord Third," the boy said respectfully. "When he wakes up, he will bear no memory of his younger brother having ever existed. That is what you want, right Itachi?"

I looked back up at Sasuke, my _Sharingan_ staring into his.

Sasuke's mother and father were both on the ground, with blood spattered around them. Footsteps made Sasuke look up, and Itachi stepped out of the shadows.

Sasuke and I both turned around, and we saw a man of about eighteen. "Itachi…Uchiha," I said to him. "My, how you've grown," Itachi said to me. Sasuke pulled out his sword and charged.

"Sasuke," Itachi said. "As your brother, I want to say that I couldn't be more proud. But as your enemy, I want to say that our final battle is drawing near."

"I'll help you," Sasuke said to me. "But in return, once we're done, you have to drop everything and help me find Itachi."

"I'm leaving to go search for Itachi," Sasuke informed me. "You are not going anywhere," I responded.

All in the blink of an eye, the cloud reduced to a ball of white light, and then exploded outwards with the force of a warhead.

Sasuke sat on the ground, panting heavily. He rose to his feet and stumbled away, spattering blood as he went.

Itachi Uchiha sat on the edge of the roof, looking down at me with a grin on his face.

_(Currently)_ I was certain I had just entered a dream world. "I," I started, not knowing what words to use. "I honestly didn't think I'd see you again."

"Really?" Itachi said with faked mild shock. "You thought your older brother had just abandoned you? Come, now, Tanzaki, you should know better than that. You may not have the same desire to kill me that Sasuke does, but you should know I will _always_ be a part of your life. Ever since you rediscovered the truth of your heritage, you and I will always face each other in life."

"Okay, well what are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I wanted to talk to you in an environment where we wouldn't be interrupted by our brother's violent acts of rage," Itachi answered.

"Okay, talk," I told him.

"What do you intend to do about your fight with the Decepticon Commander?" he asked me.

My eyes narrowed, and I said, "Why does that matter to you?"

"Haven't you been listening, Tanzaki?" Itachi asked. "You're my brother. I will always be concerned with your life. Now tell me, do you truly believe you can defeat this Megatron?"

"I believe I don't have a choice in the matter," I answered.

"You always have a choice, Tanzaki," Itachi corrected me. "What makes you so determined to fight this entity? If you just left the war and never came back, he wouldn't search for you. You know that. Why would you stay here and put your own life in peril? Why not just leave and pursue your own goals?"

"What, are you stupid or something?" I asked him. "If I leave here, who's going to help them win? Who's going to defend my town? If I just leave, the Decepticons will take over, and no one will be able to stop them. I'm not just going to sit back and let them massacre everyone."

Itachi looked at me for a moment before saying, "Do you really think you can save _everyone_ here? Think about it, Tanzaki. How many thousands of people have died today? Your city is in shambles, and you have nothing but exhaustion to match against the Decepticon Leader. Tanzaki, countless have lost their lives today, and more will continue to die as long as hatred exists in this world. Do you really intend to simply dispatch any threat that befalls your city?"

"I'm gonna damn well try," I assured him.

Itachi scoffed, and he said, "Naruto Uzumaki once said something similar to me. You're more like him than you are me or Sasuke."

"Good. I don't wanna be in the image of either of you," I informed him.

"No, I've noticed that you've steered yourself away from traditional Uchiha emotions," Itachi noted. "Tell me, what would you do if your friends and family were murdered right now? How would you respond?"

"I wouldn't stop until the person responsible was in the ground," I answered.

"Really, so, if say, I were to kill everyone around you right now…" Itachi began.

"You wouldn't get that far," I corrected him.

"Don't be so certain."

My eyes widened as Itachi stood behind Nichi, a kunai aimed at her neck. Nichi's eyes were wide as well, and she stood paralyzed in shock while I spun around, throwing a shuriken back at Itachi's clone while the original stood and watched. The clone knocked the shuriken away with his knife, and while I was distracted, the original appeared behind me with his arm raised.

"Gah!" I flew back and smashed into the front wall of a nearby building, and when the dust from the impact cleared, I lay among the rubble with blood trailing down the side of my head.

"Don't be so naïve that you think you can protect_ all _your friends, _all _the time, Tanzaki," Itachi advised me.

I struggled to a kneeling position and glared at him as I panted in pain.

"Noted," I informed him, "now get the hell out of here."

"I'm not finished yet," Itachi told me. "You seem to have come under the impression that the right amount of effort on your part will be sufficient to save anyone in peril. I'm here to tell you that is a lie. Your friends may die in battle, and you may be nowhere near them to help them. You could be in another part of the world, involved in your own battles. War is an especially commonplace for that to happen. You will eventually lose comrades in battle, Tanzaki, and you need to be able to handle that. If I had been serious a moment ago, all of your friends around you would be dead right now, and there would have been nothing you could have done to prevent it.

"When you go into the final battle with Megatron, you had better be prepared, because you can be damn sure that more people will die. As you and your comrades charge into this battle, the possibility that at least one of you won't come out alive is high, almost certain. Will you be able to handle that, Tanzaki? If you lose one of your friends or family members in this fight, will that be something that you can just walk away from? You've never lost anyone in battle before, so you don't know how it feels to watch your brethren slain in front of you."

"That's hilarious coming from the guy who killed his entire family," I informed him.

Itachi took on a small grin and said, "Believe me, it was long before that when I lost my first friend to war. Don't think for a second that death can't happen to those around you, because believe me, it can. Be prepared, Tanzaki, because the day _will_ come when you will eventually lose a friend."

"Knock it off!" Nichi took a step forward as she glared at Itachi, and she said, "Stop trying to mess with his head!"

"Trust me, psychological sabotage is not my goal," Itachi assured her. "I'm just trying to get Tanzaki to see the reality right in front of him. Little Brother, you're not _always_ going to be able to protect those closest to you, and one day, one of them will die. You need to be prepared for that."

"Fine, I get it," I told him, "now get lost."

Itachi looked at me analytically for a moment before saying, "I have one last piece of advice for you, Tanzaki."

"What now?" I asked.

"This final battle that you and SNIS are facing; don't expect anything. Don't expect it to be like anything you've ever encountered in your life. The Decepticon Commander is a warrior that defies description. Every single battle you've had up until now will be meaningless when confronting him. In all honesty, your chances of winning are very, very bleak."

"How do you know all this?" I asked him.

"I'll save that for another time," Itachi answered. "Tanzaki, if you truly wish to win against this enemy, you need to put aside everything you think you know about battle. You're going to need to adapt to Megatron's battle style, and you're going to need to develop new battle tactics while in the heat of the fight. If you can manage to do this without getting killed, you may have a chance at winning."

"I understand," I said to him sincerely. "Anything else?"

Itachi thought about it for a second, and then he said, "Yes…watch our brother's back." I nodded, and Itachi turned to face the opposite direction. He stood with a posturing expression, and he then disappeared.

I watched the place where he had gone while Nichi, Dan, Tsunade, and McKinley walked up to me. "Are you okay?" Tsunade asked me.

After a moment of thought, I looked at her and said, "Never been better."

Tsunade took on a small grin at this, and she said, "Don't think for a second about this fight. Rely on your pure instincts to win. It's what you've always done, and it's gotten you far."

"Understood," I confirmed.

"I'm going back to headquarters to organize the effort to save as many SNIS agents as possible," McKinley announced.

"I'll come with you," Tsunade responded. The two of them left, leaving Nichi, Dan and I to ourselves.

"So what happens now?" Nichi asked.

"We wait," Dan answered.

"I hate waiting," I commented.

"Megatron said he'd be here two hours from now. Until then, we just need to wait it out and help out the agency in recovering our fighters. I'm sure the medical units will have their hands full treating all of the wounded. We should go and help them any way we can."

Nichi and I confirmed this action, and the next hour was spent helping the recovery teams. We each split up and helped out as many medical units as we could find, clearing away rubble and taking out any Decepticlones that appeared. The situation was bad. All in all, SNIS had lost nearly twenty-two hundred agents in the war against the Decepticlones. About three hundred of them were killed in the blast that destroyed the city. Enemy casualties were estimated to be between five and eight thousand. Reports that had come in from around the world over the past year indicated that this wasn't even a small fraction of the Decepticlone forces that Megatron had mass produced.

I knew that we would be dealing with remaining pockets of Decepticlone forces for many years to come, but at least we could finally deal with the one who controlled them all. In the middle of the recovery process, I held up a support beam while a doctor treated a wounded agent. The treatment seemed to be going well, and it looked like this agent would make a full recovery. In the middle of this process, the roar of several thruster engines made me look around.

A fleet of five drop ships flew through the air over our heads, and I watched with an open mouth as they flew into the city. As I watched them steadily approach SNIS headquarters, I said under my breath, "Oh, no."

Each of the drop ships dropped a bomb onto SNIS headquarters, raising a series of explosions that sent flames and rubble over what remained of the city. "Damn it!" I said in horror as I watched with wide eyes. The drop ships flew off, leaving headquarters in flames, and every agent in the area looked on in shock. I felt the wind as Dan rushed past me, heading straight for headquarters without pause. I shoved the support beam I was holding out of the way of the medic and his patient, and I immediately took off after Dan. The two of us ran as quickly as we could towards the pillars of smoke rising up behind the rubble of Saint Peters, and after five minutes, we came to headquarters.

A massive hole had been blown into the front wall, leaving piles of rubble across all five floors. Several corpses lay strewn amongst the rubble, but Dan and I paid them little mind as we headed into the blast zone. We jumped and zigzagged across rubble as we came closer and closer to the foundation of the base, and as we approached, we started to hear distressed shouting. A female voice, emanating from the third floor, was clearly in dire agony as she shouted repeatedly, but neither of us could tell what she was saying. Dan and I came to the base of what was left of headquarters and leaped up, coming to the third floor where the shouts were originating from.

"No! No! Come on, dammit, come on! Get up! Don't do this!" Tsunade was hunched over a body lying on the ground, which was drenched in blood. My heart started to sink and my throat swelled up as Dan and I slowly walked around. McKinley's lifeless body lay on the ground in front of Tsunade, who tried desperately to heal her, shouts echoing across the room, but McKinley's eyes continued to stare out to heaven.


	150. Chapter 147: Stand

STAND

McKinley lay on the ground, blood all over her body, with Tsunade leaning over her, trying desperately to revive her. I had never seen the Hidden Leaf Hokage show signs of distress before, but what she had been reduced to was something I almost couldn't bear. Having finally given up, Tsunade came back to a sitting position, gasping uncontrollably in terror, and she looked down at McKinley with tears welling in her eyes. Every thought, every plan forming in my head to fight Megatron had been shattered as I looked down at the corpse of the SNIS Director.

I heard heavy breathing next to me, and Dan turned around and stomped away, swinging his fist and taking a chunk out of the broken wall behind me. He came back to stand next to me, his breathing still heavy and deep, and he looked down at McKinley's body with pure despair. A moment later, Nichi came in through a doorway leading to a staircase, and she looked around with wide eyes at all of us. She then looked down and spotted McKinley's body, and she gasped in horror.

I looked at her grimly, and she walked hesitantly over to look down at McKinley. Dan beside me was trembling uncontrollably, and I could feel the rage resonating off him. After a moment of horrified silence, I said, "I have to admit…he's smart."

Nichi looked at me with wide eyes, and Dan looked like he was desperately trying to hold his tongue.

"It was a ploy," Tsunade clarified through heavy breaths. She didn't avert her eyes from McKinley for a second as she said, "This was timed perfectly to throw you off. It was meant to sabotage you in your fight against him. He could have done it at any point in time, but he saved it for just the right moment."

"He's coming," I reminded them. "He's coming, and when he does, we'll be there. We'll finish this once and for all, and we'll make him pay for everything he's done. He will not get away with this, and I will personally ensure that he regrets ever coming to this planet." I looked at Dan out of the corner of my eyes and saw that he seemed to have calmed down, if only a little.

He took a deep breath, let it out, and after a second, he said, "Yeah…you're right."

As we stood there, looking down at our fallen Director, the sound of distant, rushing wind made us all look around. A meteor was plummeting towards the earth from the sky, burning through the atmosphere as it came down, and my eyes narrowed as it came.

"Go." Tsunade glared out at the meteor with the utmost rage in her eyes, and she had tears running down her cheeks. "Go, fight him. Take him down. Make him pay for everything he's done to this world. And Matt," I looked at her, and she said, "Make damn sure you kill him."

I nodded, and the three of us leaped out of headquarters. The meteor crashed down into the City Center, a place that was once a small park with a trail system for walking, surrounding a small pond that had a gazebo on an island in the center, accessible by two bridges. This park lay in front of several buildings that operated Saint Peters, as well as a recreational center called the Rec-Plex. The City Center was within a mile of the blast site, and now lay in piles of rubble. The pond, which was usually green and the cleanest body of water in the county, was now polluted with dust and rubble.

The meteor had punched a wide, deep crater into the main road that passed in front of the Center, and Nichi, Dan and I stood ready, waiting for whatever was about to come out of that hole in the ground. A massive shockwave blasted out from the crater, making us all put our arms out in front of us in defense, and we all tried our hardest not to look away. The shockwave finally ceased, and as my arms lowered, my eyes widened. Standing right in front of the crater was a mechanical body that rose twelve feet in the air to the head, but there were extensions coming straight up from his shoulders that rose another five feet.

The extensions looked like they had conveyer belts on them, and the same was the case with the backs of his legs. The rest of his legs up to his knees were green and thick with metal armor, but his thighs were purple, and had much less armor. His arms lacked the armor of his legs, but they did nothing to diminish his appearance. Two purple, metal horns came straight up from the sides of his head, and his bright red eyes glowed out as he looked down at us. Attached to his back was a large chunk of metal, and out of it came a large barrel that was roughly ten feet long, and it reached out to the side, aiming into open air.

The aura resonating from the Decepticon Commander suffocated the air, making it feel as though I couldn't breathe. A bead of sweat rolled down the back of my neck, but I stood my ground alongside Nichi and Dan, both of whom seemed to share my instinctive fear.

"I only count three of you," Megatron said in a calm, casual voice. "Where is the fourth?"

"He bailed," I answered. My eyes narrowed and I questioned what was happening to me. I had just had to resist the temptation to call him "sir".

"Hm," Megatron said thoughtfully. The way in which he spoke was severely off-putting compared to his appearance. His tone of voice held no malice or firmness, or even a hint of ill-will towards us. It was as if we were all complete strangers, and he were courteously asking us a simple question. After a moment of looking at the three of us, Megatron said, "I must say, this is quite the disappointment. I would have figured the people that could take on my Decepticon Elite Squadron would appear much more confident in themselves. I had not expected their determination to waver simply by my mere presence. I predict that this will end quickly. As a reward for your prowess in dispatching my forces, I will make your deaths as painless and merciful as possible."

"Good to know," I told him. "The part you have wrong is the one where you think we're the ones who will be dying here."

Megatron took on a grin at this, and he said, "It's good to see you still have some fight left in you. Perhaps this will be enjoyable after all. Now, enough talk. Are you prepared to finish this battle?"

Nichi sparked electricity across her hands, Dan pulled his sword out of his waist, and I raised the arm with Flashbang on it. Megatron aimed his arm at us and fired, all at once, five purple blasts that hit the ground around us, blasting up dust and rubble and shattering our guard. I hit the ground in the midst of the dust cloud, but I immediately got back to my feet and aimed Flashbang out. Megatron stood there as pair of rockets came out of the dust at him, but he swiped his arm and knocked them both away without the least amount of effort.

Dan flew into the air out of the dust cloud, and he made some hand signs and said, "_Ninja Art: Black Plasma Shuriken!_" He held his arms out and fired a barrage of black energy balls at Megatron, but he held one arm up and formed a shield across his body, which blocked the assault without sustaining a scratch. Fiery light shone out of the dust, and I tore across the ground at Megatron with flames trailing from my sword, and he took up a stance to intercept me as I closed in. I swung my sword up and back down at Megatron, but he jerked his leg outward and collided it into my face, sending me flying through the air and then bouncing across the ground.

I rammed into a pile of rubble and sent pieces flying, and when the resulting dust cleared, I sat in a small crater with blood running down my face. The dust cloud finally cleared, and Nichi fired a circuit of electricity at Megatron, who intercepted it with his bare arm without showing any signs of pain. Megatron swung his arm outward, dispersing the electricity, and he aimed his opposite wrist at Nichi and fired a single purple blast at her. Nichi dove back down to the ground as the blast punched a crater into the ground behind her, and she looked around to see Megatron looking down at her.

What looked like a giant buzz-saw flew through the air at Megatron from the side, but he saw it coming and put his shoulder extension out to intercept it. The buzz-saw blade bounced off Megatron's heavy armor, leaving a tiny scratch against the metal, and Dan dropped down, catching the sword before landing back on the ground. He then leaped away just as Megatron fired a blast at him, tearing the ground apart where he had been standing. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" A massive ball of flames tore across the ground at Megatron, but he put his hand out in front of him and caught the flames head-on. I don't know what it was, but something about him caused the flames to fly around him, leaving him completely unharmed by the time they cleared.

I appeared behind him with my flame-engulfed sword raised, and I swung it down on top of him to unleash a massive burst of flames that engulfed him completely and raged out past him. When the flames died, Megatron was facing me with his arm held up against my sword, and he didn't have a single scorch mark in his armor from my attack. "You are a worm," he commented to me. "Get out of my sight." He reached up with his other arm, wrapped his hand around my throat, then swung me around through the air and threw me as hard as he could. I flew a hundred feet through the air before coming down and landing on the ground, and I tore across the rubble of the city, blasting up walls of dust fifty feet high.

When the dust cleared, I lay among piles of rubble, blood staining the ground around me, and I could barely focus on what was right in front of me. _Jesus,_ I thought to myself. _This guy's on a whole different level._ I thought back to what Itachi had said to me earlier.

"_The Decepticon Commander is a warrior that defies description. Every single battle you've had up until now will be meaningless when confronting him. In all honesty, your chances of winning are very, very bleak." _

I tried to get back to my feet, but pain shot through my body, and I groaned with gritted teeth as I was forced back down. While I continued laying there, a massive explosion sent dust rising seventy feet into the air, coming from the City Center. My eyes widened in horror as I witnessed this, and through the pain I forced myself back to my feet and braced to charge back to the battlefield. Residual electricity hung in the air as a blanket of dust coated the battleground, and Nichi and Dan lay amongst the rubble of fallen buildings around them. Both of them were covered in blood, and while Dan was completely unconscious, Nichi managed to open her eyes half-way.

She looked through the dust at Megatron, who was looking back down at her with an expressionless face. "I will never comprehend how people such as yourselves were able to combat my forces. You are the epitome of weakness, and finally laying waste to your entire kind will be less than rewarding for me. It would be the same as crushing an army of flies. I will make your deaths quick and merciful, and you will no longer be forced to feel the pain of defeat. Go now; leave this life, and wait for the rest of your kind."

Megatron aimed his arm down at Nichi, but fiery light made him look up into the air. A massive ball of fire crashed into him and exploded on impact, blasting up smoke and rubble into the air. The smoke cleared, and Megatron looked up just as I came down, and I swung my fire-engulfed sword directly at his face.


	151. Chapter 148: Fight

Naruto Chronicles is coming to an end here soon, and that means the Series Finale will be posted in the coming weeks. Now, this Finale was too long to fit into one chapter, so it'll be split into two chapters that will be posted simultaneously. I would love to give you a definite date on when that will be happening, unfortunately my inability to remember to post regularly inhibits me from doing so. However, I do know how many more chapters there will be before the Series Finale. As of right now, there are five more chapters until the two-part Series Finale.

* * *

FIGHT

I swung my fire-engulfed sword at Megatron, and he was too slow to react. My sword made contact with him and immediately exploded in a burst of flames, and I pressed against him with all my strength, keeping a continuous stream of fire pounding against him. A metal arm reached out of the fire and grabbed my sword, instantly quelling the flames, and my eyes widened in horror as Megatron stepped out of the smoke and swung me around through the air. He brought me down and smashed me into the ground directly in front of him, and he raised his massive foot up, and then brought it down on top of me.

I rolled out of the way just as his leg crashed to the ground next to me, and I came to my feet and jumped back through the air before Megatron could stop me. While flying back I swung my sword, firing an arc of flames down at Megatron, who raised his arm up in front of him. His arm blocked the flames as they raged past him on either side, but I appeared in the air right behind him and brought my sword down once more. Another explosion of flames tore through the air around us, but Megatron flew back out of them without so much as a scorch mark.

He dropped down to the ground, and when he landed, he shook the earth like a giant, causing the few remaining buildings around us to rumble violently. I appeared directly in front of him with my sword raised, but Megatron thrust his fist down at me, causing me to throw myself to the side haphazardly to dodge his strike. I came to the ground and barrel-rolled back to my feet, but before I could perform an attack, Megatron aimed his arm at me and fired. An explosion blasted up dust and rubble, but I appeared opposite of the cloud from Megatron, who stepped through the dust to glare at me.

I had fresh blood running down my face as I looked at him, and I was panting in a mixture of pain and exhaustion. A compartment opened up on Megatron's left leg, and he reached into it and pulled out a large pistol that he aimed at me. My eyes widened, and purple energy charged up in the barrel of the pistol. The pistol unleashed an intense beam of energy that collided into me like an oversized bazooka, and dust and rubble blasted back through the air, rising up fifty feet off the ground.

I appeared to the side of the dust cloud and fired Flashbang at Megatron, but as he watched the rockets come at him, when they were within arm's reach, he batted them out of the air. "Do you actually have something that would be worth my time to counter, or are simple, petty tricks all you know?" Megatron asked me. I put my sword in its scabbard and started making hand signs, but Megatron immediately aimed his wrist and fired another set of blasts at me.

"_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I breathed out a jet of intense flames at Megatron, but when the blasts intercepted them, the resulting explosions acted like a wall of energy that blocked my jutsu. When the flames and explosions cleared, I shot through the air down at Megatron with my sword held to my side. Megatron aimed his gun at me and started charging up, but I stopped cold and swung my sword around, firing a wave of flames down at him. Megatron fired his gun and dispersed the flames, and I just barely managed to dodge the beam so that it grazed my shoulder.

I dropped down and landed on the ground, my hand covering the wound in my shoulder, but I kept my sword gripped in my hand, waiting for a chance to attack. "Why don't you quit hiding and come out?" Megatron suggested.

At the same time, Dan peered out from a piece of fallen building at Megatron, and he had his sword clutched in his hand. He made some hand signs and said, "_Tool Summoning Jutsu!_" Megatron turned around halfway to look behind him, and he saw a shuriken flying at him. A puff of smoke caused the shuriken to grow to thirty feet tall, and Megatron held his arm up as one of the blades came down at him. Megatron held the shuriken at bay with his bare arms, and the weight and momentum of the weapon caused his feet to dig into the ground under him.

The blade had torn a shallow incision into his arm, but Megatron paid little notice. A second shuriken, every bit as big as the first, flew at Megatron parallel to the ground, and his eyes widened in shock. The second shuriken collided into the first, knocking it loose and causing them both to tear the ground apart as they tumbled over each other. Several large dust clouds rose into the air, and I appeared in the air well away from the shuriken with the Tiger sign weaved. "_Fire Style: Nova Flame Jutsu!_" I fired a wave of flames down at the dust clouds, and the impact caused smoke and fire to rise out of the dust.

I waited in the air while Dan stood on the ground, and we both looked at the smoke and dust to see what had happened to Megatron. When the dust finally cleared, Megatron was on his hand and knees, and he had several tears in his armor while the two giant shuriken standing embedded in the ground in front and behind him. In spite of his injuries, Megatron rose to his feet like nothing had happened, and he looked around at Dan and I as we both waited for him to counterattack. The ground under him began rumbling, causing Megatron to look around and see a massive wave of electricity coming at him.

The electricity tore the ground apart on its way to him, and Megatron held his arm out and activated his shield, and when the wave crashed into him, a cloud of dust rose into the air, sending rubble raining across the area. Nichi stood at the root of the wave with her arms held out, and she looked into the dust cloud expectantly. A beam of purple energy shot out of the dust, hitting her square in the shoulder and knocking her off her feet, spattering blood to the ground around her. Nichi lay on the ground, stemming heavy blood flow from the wound in her shoulder that was three inches in diameter, and pierced over an inch deep.

The dust cleared to reveal Megatron aiming his blaster at her, and he said, "I'm honestly quite impressed that you were able to keep your arm after that. You must have very a very resilient body for a human. And from what I've witnessed in your previous battles, you appear to have a wide array of attacks. I should dispose of you now, or—."

"Get away from her!" I shot down at Megatron with flames trailing off my sword, and he looked over his shoulder to see me coming at him.

"That hotheadedness will be the death of you," he commented as he aimed his blaster up at me. I bent my legs on the ground right next to him, and he looked down at me as I swung my sword with all my strength. My swing fired off a tremendous wave of flames that came several stories above the buildings and washed down like a tidal wave. A sea of flames formed on the ground around the battlefield, casting fiery light across the entire area, and Megatron's red eyes glowed out from his body shadowed by light as he stood in the fire.

I came up from behind him and swung my sword, but even the sharp blade enhanced with flames barely breached the heavy armor on his back. Megatron immediately reacted, spinning around and ramming the side of his fist into my side, sending me into the ground and smashing out a twenty foot line across it. Megatron turned his body around to aim his arm at me, and he fired a set of blasts that hit the ground around me, raising up a cloud of dust.

"_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" A massive fireball burst out of the dust cloud at Megatron, but he held his arm out and activated his shield once again to block it. Dan appeared behind him with his sword raised, and he swung it outward against Megatron's back, cutting a shallow incision into his armor. Megatron looked over his shoulder at Dan just as the _Fireball Jutsu_ closed in, and the flames caused an explosion that raised smoke and dust into the air. Dan flew backwards out of the smoke and landed on the ground thirty feet away, and he held his sword out in front of him in preparation.

The smoke cleared, and Megatron was standing in the exact same spot he had started in, looking around at both of us. "Is this truly the best warriors of Earth have to offer me? I've been to planets whose weakest vermin were stronger than this, and you are rumored to be the strongest? This does not satisfy me. My recommendation is that you leave now and plan out a battle strategy. I will wait here for you until you return."

"Man, you talk a lot," I commented as I stepped forward. I aimed the tip of my fire-engulfed sword at him and said, "Let me make this very clear once and for all: we're not going to run away, we're not going to give up, and we're not going to leave this fight until either we or you are dead. Sorry if we haven't exactly lived up to your expectations, but we kinda just got done fighting a war. We're a little shaky at the moment, but we'll get warmed up for you."

Megatron looked silently at me as I spoke, and when I was done, he said, "Very well. If you have no intentions of backing down, then I will wipe your lives from your bodies before you can think. It won't be difficult."

"Well bring it on, then," Dan commanded as he held his sword at the ready.

Megatron looked around, and he said, "Where is the girl?" Nichi hit Megatron at point-blank range with a massive burst of electricity that blasted up the ground around them, sending dust and rubble into the air. Nichi came back out of the dust and landed on the ground, looking in and waiting for Megatron to emerge. Megatron stepped out casually, looking at Nichi with an expressionless face, and he said, "That seemed a bit more powerful than your last attacks, but it was still weak. You should fight me with something that's more focused, more concentrated. I would suggest you work on being able to charge up your powers more quickly, but you won't live long enough for that to be of any use."

I put my sword in its scabbard, and I made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I fired out a barrage of thirty tiny fireballs at Megatron, but he formed his shield and blocked all of them without taking so much as a scratch. I braced myself and shot in with my sword raised, but Megatron deactivated his shield and held his blaster out. Instead of charging up a powerful beam, he simply pulled the trigger and fired off a blast of purple energy that came out like a cannon ball. My eyes narrowed just as I disappeared in a burst of speed, and I came out right behind Megatron with my sword ready to swing.

Megatron instantly spun around and rammed his arm into my sword, knocking me back through the air. I flew backwards before I activated _Flight Jutsu_ and came to a halt, and I then swung my sword downward, firing a wave of flames at Megatron. As the flames came down on him, Megatron stepped forward and took them head-on, causing the wave to fly past him on all sides, leaving him unharmed. As soon as the flames were clear, Megatron aimed his blaster up and fired three blasts, but I came to the side of them and let them all fly by.

I aimed the tip of my sword down at Megatron and focused my chakra, and a ball of flames concentrated at the blade. Out of the fireball fired half a dozen embers of flames at Megatron, but he formed his shield and blocked all of them, leaving him unharmed. I braced myself and shot down at Megatron with fire concentrating into my sword, but he aimed his wrist up at me and fired a set of blasts at me. I maneuvered out of the way of the blasts so that they all flew past me, and as I continued flying down at Megatron, I swung my sword and fired an arc of flames.

Megatron held his ground and withstood the flames, taking no damage s they all raged past him, and he then aimed his blaster up at me. I disappeared in a burst of speed and came out right behind Megatron, but he quickly turned around and hit me in the ace with the side of his fist, knocking me back through the air and sending me smashing into the rubble of a fallen building. "_Ninja Art: Black Plasma Shuriken!_" A barrage of black shuriken came at Megatron from behind on all sides, and his eyes widened as he turned around, just before he was bombarded.

All of the _Black Plasma Shuriken_ brought up a cloud of smoke around Megatron, and Dan stood thirty feet away, making hand signs. "_Ninja Art: Tool Summoning Jutsu!_" Dan put his hands to his sides and summoned two shuriken, and when he threw them at Megatron, he made more hand signs.

"_Ninja Art: Shuriken Expansion Jutsu!_" Both of the shuriken expanded to being thirty feet long each, and they tore the ground apart on their way to Megatron. Megatron watched them come without a hint of fear, and he said, "Use the same trick twice, and it will start to get old." Megatron raised his right arm, and the turret on his back swung around so that it faced directly forward, and the inside of the barrel started to glow yellow. Just as the shuriken came within ten feet of him, Megatron's turret discharged a powerful blast that moved quicker than the eye could follow, and both shuriken were shattered instantly.

Dan hung suspended in the air from the recoil of the blast as a hole the size of a basketball had been blown into his body.


	152. Chapter 149: Breathe

Four more chapters until the two-part Series Finale.

* * *

BREATHE

Dan hung suspended in the air with a hole blown into his body, and Nichi and I both watched in horror. Megatron stood triumphantly with a small grin on his face, and he said, "That's one down."

"Think again, jackass," Dan said from right behind him. The sound of tearing metal echoed throughout the air, and Megatron stumbled forward with a giant incision in the armor on his back. Dan stood behind him with his sword raised, and the blade was surrounded in black energy—the same energy that comprised his _Black Plasma Shuriken_.

I appeared near him and said, "That's a new one."

"It's called _Ninja Art: Black Plasma Sword_," Dan said with a proud smile. "I didn't want to use it on the Decepticons because I figured Megatron would be watching our battles. I wanted to save this as a little ace in the hole for our fight with him."

The sound of blaster fire made us both leap in opposite directions, and five purple blasts flew through the air between us. I fired off an arc of fire at Megatron while Dan fired several blasts from his pistol at him. Megatron crossed his arms and took the attacks without budging, an as soon as he was clear, he lowered his arm and aimed his turret up at me. I disappeared just as a blast shot out into the air, but Megatron spun around and struck his fist out, hitting me in the jaw just as I appeared there and sending me flying back.

Dan landed on the ground right behind Megatron with his sword raised, but Megatron jutted his elbow out behind him, ramming Dan in the gut and causing him to stop cold. Megatron reached back and grabbed Dan's shirt, pulling him around and smashing him into the ground right before Megatron rammed his other fist into him with all his strength. The strike blasted up dust and rubble off the ground, and when the dust cleared, Dan lay on the ground with blood running down his face.

Megatron kicked him in the gut, sending Dan flying through the air and crashing into a fallen building. Nichi flew above Megatron with both hands held to one side, and she built up electricity in between them as Megatron looked up at her. Nichi threw her arms forward and fired off a burst of electricity, which hit Megatron directly and blasted up dust and rubble around him. Nichi came down and landed on the ground facing the dust cloud, but as soon as her feet hit the ground, a blast hit her in the gut, knocking her off her feet and sending her crashing to the ground.

Megatron stepped out of the dust cloud with his blaster aiming down at Nichi, but she quickly threw her arms up and formed a dome of electricity around her. Megatron began charging his blaster, but a tiny red blast hit him in the back of the leg, and Megatron looked around to see Dan lying on the ground, aiming his pistol up at him. Megatron retrained his blaster down at Dan, but I appeared behind him with fire concentrated into my sword, and I swung down and unleashed a massive burst of flames.

I stood in the flames with my sword held out, but a large, metal arm swung out, ramming it into my blade as I held it out in defense. The strength of the swing sent me flying out of the flames and bouncing across the ground, and Megatron stepped out of the flames and aimed his wrist at me. Out of the cloud of dust that I created when I landed, a _Fireball Jutsu_ shot at Megatron, tearing the ground apart as it came at him, and as Megatron raised his arm to defend against it, I was right behind him with my sword raised.

Megatron's eyes shifted to the right as fiery light glowed against his armor, and a massive wave of flames rose into the air over the remains of Saint Peters, sending embers raining down across the battlefield. Flames rose into the air off the ground around us, and Megatron had his hand wrapped around my throat, holding me three feet off the ground. My teeth were gritted as I struggled against Megatron's grasp, but he held me there with an iron strong grip as he held his opposite hand up. A ball of purple energy appeared in his open palm, and my eyes widened just before Megatron thrust his arm forward.

An enormous explosion of energy blasted out dust and rubble across the battlefield, and Nichi and Dan held their arms up in front of their faces to protect against rubble. The light from the explosion faded, and I lay in a crater punched into the earth with blood all over me, spattered on the ground around me. Megatron walked out of the twenty-foot-wide crater and looked around, searching out the conditions of Dan and Nichi. A giant shuriken came at him head-on, but Megatron aimed his turret at it and fired off a blast, shattering the shuriken and causing the pieces to tumble across the ground past him on all sides.

Dan stood hunched over, panting heavily with his arm stretched out towards Megatron, and he had his sword held in his opposite hand. Megatron looked Dan up and down, and he said, "You don't appear to be in fighting condition. I recommend you walk away now, while you still have your life."

"I really hate it when you people say that to me," Dan commented to him through heavy breaths. Megatron's eyes narrowed, and Dan continued, "I don't think I've ever fought a Decepticon that didn't tell me to run away. And it's funny, because all of those Decepticons are now dead."

Megatron scoffed, and he said, "I don't generally teach my soldiers mercy, but it is nice to know they don't enjoy fighting trash. I suppose their pride and confidence led them to drop their guard against you. I assure you, had the Decepticon soldiers you fought have battled with all of their strength, you would not have defeated any of them. But no matter; you are fighting me now, and you will _not_ survive unless you leave now."

"Not happening," Dan said in finality. Megatron then took on a grin, and right at that moment, a burst of power made his eyes widen as light-purple light shone out behind him. Megatron looked over his shoulder as Nichi stood twenty feet behind him, holding both arms out and charging a ball of electricity from her hands.

"You were stalling me," Megatron commented casually. Nichi fired off a massive burst of electricity that pounded the air as it came at Megatron, and he turned around and formed a shield on his arm. The burst of electricity collided into him and unleashed an enormous pulse of energy, casting light across the battlefield that blinded the scene. The light gradually faded as Megatron aimed both arms and his turret out in fire-ready preparation, and he let off a barrage of blasts that flew in Nichi's direction.

She quickly threw up a wall of electricity that climbed thirty feet in the air, and a series of explosions pounded against the electric wall, raising smoke and dust that didn't make it past the electricity. The sound of tearing metal echoed through the air, and Dan stood behind Megatron with his sword raised, enhanced with the energy of _Black Plasma Sword_. Another deep incision tore through Megatron's armor, and he yelled in pain as he stumbled forward, dropping pieces and parts to the ground around him.

Dan then reached into his pocket and pulled out an electric knife, and he activated the blade and thrust it at Megatron's back. Megatron stepped to the side just in time so that the blade stuck in the side of his torso, and he spun around and rammed his arm into Dan's jaw, knocking him through the air and sending him tearing across the ground. The sound of electricity made Megatron look around, and several circuits came at him from all sides, with Nichi at the root of him, her arms held out, manipulating the circuits.

All of the electricity crashed into Megatron, tearing the ground apart and sending dust and rubble into the air, obscuring him from view. I climbed out of the pile of rubble I had smashed into and started making hand signs, but my eyes widened as Megatron flew out of the dust cloud, aiming all his weapons down at us. He fired off a barrage of missiles and blaster fire, but I activated a _Flight Jutsu_ and came up into the air while Dan made a straight line for Nichi. He weaved in and out of explosions that tore the ground apart, closing in on Nichi the entire time, and as Megatron saw what was happening, he began focusing his fire on both of them.

"Don't ignore me!" I closed in and swung my sword, but Megatron held his arm out and intercepted the blade, leaving me paralyzed by the shock of impact as he rammed his opposite fist into my stomach. Megatron swung me over his head and threw me down into the ground, causing me to blast up dust on impact while he descended down. Megatron landed on the ground with a heavy thud, and he aimed his turret at Dan and Nichi and fired, blasting up smoke and dust around them. Dan flew backwards out of the smoke cloud with his arms crossed in defense, and Nichi tumbled out the side, landing on the ground just before she held her arm out and fired a circuit of electricity at Megatron.

Megatron came to the side of the circuit as it flew past him, and he aimed his blaster at her and fired a single shot of energy. Nichi quickly threw up a haphazard wall of electricity, but the blast broke right through it and hit her directly, blasting up smoke and rubble around her. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I fired out an intense burst of flames at Megatron, and his eyes widened as he held his arm up, forming his shield just before he became shrouded in flames. The _Dragon Flame_ subsided, and I stood twenty feet away from a wall of flames on the ground, with blood all over me as I panted in exhaustion.

Megatron's arm swung out to clear the flames, and he looked at me with an angry glare as he examined my injuries. "Hah," I said with a pained smile. "First sign of expression I've gotten out of you this whole fight. Does that mean we're finally getting to you?"

"What it means is that you three have been thorns in my side since we first came to this world, and now the throbbing pain has come to a climax. You seem to be trying to avoid the fact that I _will_ kill you, and this petty resistance is simply a means to put off the inevitable."

"Yeah, dying at the age of fourteen really isn't something I look forward to," I admitted.

"So if your plan is to kill me before I even reach adulthood, I'm gonna have to disappoint you."

"So you may think," Megatron said to me as he aimed both arms. All in a split second, I raised my sword over my head, built up flames into the blade, and threw them all down at the ground to unleash a massive cloud of fire that hid me as Megatron unleashed a barrage of blasts. The blasts quickly cleared all of the fire, and when Megatron realized that I wasn't there, he started looking around for me. I was hiding behind the rubble of a fallen building, looking out at him and panting while I planned my next move.

The sound of someone landing made me look around, and Dan was sitting next to me against the pile of rubble. On the other side of him was Nichi, who had blood all over her but was still able to fight.

"You got a plan?" Dan asked me.

"No, I was hoping you did, actually," I answered as I looked back out at Megatron.

"Yeah, well, he's gonna find us soon if we all stay here," Dan informed me.

"Okay, so why did you come over here?" I asked without looking at him.

"Because I wanted to make sure you were still planning on fighting," he whispered irritably.

"Guys!" Nichi whispered.

Dan looked around at her for a second before looking back at me, and he said, "We're gonna need to hit him from all sides, fast, if we want a chance of beating him."

"It's gonna take a hell of a lot more than that to bring him down," I informed him.

"I know. I'm thinking we attack him all at once to get his guard down, and then as soon as he's open, you come in and hit him with everything you've got. Deal the finishing blow before he's able to register what happens so that when you make the kill, he'll have no chance to counterattack."

I looked at him for a moment, analyzing his plan in my head, and I then nodded in confirmation. That was when the wall of rubble exploded, sending us all flying through the air and bouncing across the ground, all of us in different spots. Megatron's foot landed on Nichi to hold her down, and she struggled and moaned, trying to electrocute him, but she couldn't build up enough voltage. Megatron aimed his blaster right down at her head, and she looked up with wide eyes, all movement ceasing.

"No!" I yelled, helpless to save her. Dan was quickly searching for his sword amongst the rubble, but Megatron was charging up his blaster. Nichi looked into the barrel, the light reflecting in her eyes, when the back of Megatron's shoulder exploded, sending him stumbling off Nichi.

Optimus Prime came in with a large, orange sword in his hand, and he slashed at Megatron's torso while Hot Shot came in behind him and fired a blast that knocked Megatron off his feet. I stood dumbfounded as the Autobots held their weapons at the ready, and Megatron was on his knees.


	153. Chapter 150: Calm

Three more chapters until the two-part Series Finale.

* * *

CALM

"What the hell took you guys so long?" I asked as I looked around at them.

"Hey, sorry, man!" Hot Shot said as he looked back at me. "We got a little distracted."

"Interesting," Megatron said as he got back to his feet.

"Don't move, Megatron!" Optimus said as he switched his sword out for a gun, aiming it at Megatron.

"I was certain that battalion of Decepticons I sent to your base would have been sufficient to keep you out of this battle," Megatron continued.

"Battalion? Of Decepticons?" I said as I looked between Megatron and Optimus.

"Yeah," Hot Shot said with a grin as he looked at Megatron.

"He sent a dozen Decepticons to our base to attack us and keep us from helping out in this battle. We had to blow up our entire base to do it, but we finally managed to shake them off. And now we're gonna make up for not being here sooner."

"Special Agent Mathew Withau," Optimus addressed. "You've put up a powerful fight against our adversaries. Now, it's our turn. Stand back and let us handle the rest. Take a rest while we bring Megatron down, once and for all."

"Fine. I'm not complaining," I said. I jumped back and came over to Nichi, helping her to her feet while Dan came over to us. We all watched as Hot Shot and Optimus stared down Megatron, who didn't seem the least bit concerned.

"Two Autobots? Is this all that you've brought to bear?" Megatron said, holding his arms out to his sides.

Optimus put his finger to his ear and said, "Red Alert, go for it."

On the roof of a nearby building, Red Alert held a large rifle on the edge, looking through the scope with the crosshairs aimed at Megatron's chest.

"Copy," Red Alert replied. He pulled the trigger, and Megatron's chest exploded, sending pieces and parts flying while Megatron dropped to the ground, while Optimus and Hot Shot both aimed their weapons down. Before he even hit the dirt, Megatron began transforming, his arms going into his shoulder extensions as his thighs compressed. His armor deflected the firestorm that Optimus and Hot Shot unleashed, and Megatron completed his transformation into a fully armored tank whose turret aimed up at Red Alert's rooftop. Red Alert's eyes widened as Megatron fired, and the roof exploded, blasting off dust and rubble.

"Red Alert!" Optimus yelled as he looked over. Hot Shot immediately ran forward and jumped on top of Megatron, wrestling with him as he tried to shoot at Megatron's vulnerabilities. Megatron swung his turret up and slammed the side of it into Hot Shot's face, knocking him dizzy and allowing him to be thrown off when Megatron accelerated forward. Megatron came ten feet away and swung his turret around, aiming it down at Hot Shot and firing, blasting him back and sending metal pieces flying through the air. Optimus came in and swung his sword down, but Megatron came to one knee and used his shoulder extension to intercept the blade, which cut a small incision as Megatron punched Optimus in the jaw with the opposite fist.

Optimus stumbled back as Megatron straightened up, but he quickly regained himself and closed back in, swinging his sword around as Megatron skillfully evaded the slash. Megatron lifted his foot and rammed it into Optimus's hand, disarming him while Megatron grabbed his arm, holding him there while he punched him repeatedly. Dan's, Nichi's and my eyes widened at this sight, and Megatron put his foot in Optimus's gut and shoved him outward, sending him crashing to the ground. As soon as he hit, Optimus rolled back to his feet with his fists raised in defense, and Megatron aimed his blaster and fired several blasts.

Optimus rolled out of the way, pulling out his own gun at the same time, and he fired several shots at Megatron, who blocked them with his shield. While he was distracted, Optimus ran in and thrust his fist at Megatron, who blocked it with his shield while being forced back several feet. Optimus stepped in and rammed his fists into the shield several times, over and over again, forcing Megatron back the whole time and raising dust along the way. The shield held out at first, but after so many successive punches cracks began to form, and Megatron's eyes narrowed as his teeth gritted, the cracks in the shield worsening all the while.

Optimus rooted his rear foot in the ground and brought his fist back, and he threw it forward with all his strength, colliding it into the shield with all the power of a cannon ball. The instant the shield shattered, a blast hit Optimus square in the gut, causing him to slowly drop to his knees as he put his hands on the wound. Megatron rammed his fist into Optimus's stomach, then picked him up and swung him around, after which he brought him down and slammed him into the ground. Megatron then kicked Optimus away and aimed his blaster down at him, but an explosion blasted out a part of his back, sending him stumbling forward.

Red Alert advanced towards him with his rifle raised, and as Megatron tried to regain his ground, Red Alert fired several more blasts. Several explosions blasted out pieces of Megatron's armor while he stumbled to the ground, but he quickly transformed back into a tank and aimed his turret at Red Alert. Red Alert lowered his rifle and ran laterally to Megatron, who fired several blasts from his turret, one after another, in pursuit of him. While Red Alert ran, he aimed his arm out and fired off dozens of tiny red blasts that bounced off Megatron's armor like rubber. A small machine gun attached to Megatron's turret mount took aim at Red Alert, who continued running while Megatron fired two missiles out at him.

Red Alert saw what was happening and dove sideways, allowing the missiles to crash into the ground and raise smoke and flames into the air. The turret-mounted machine gun opened fire on Red Alert while he was on the ground, and he yelled in pain as bullets tore holes all over his body. Red Alert's entire infrastructure was slowly being torn to pieces to the point where severed circuitry sparked electricity across his body, and the Autobot's eyes were slowly fading. Optimus swung a tree down and slammed it into Megatron, causing him to bounce off the ground while the machine gun ceased.

Optimus threw the tree aside and grabbed Megatron's tank turret, and the Decepticon transformed back into robot mode and swung his fist. Optimus rammed his own fist into Megatron's back before he could complete the swing, putting the Decepticon leader on his knees and leaving him wide open. Optimus then shoved Megatron's head down and rammed his foot into him from above, knocking Megatron to the ground while he aimed his gun at him. Optimus fired several shots into Megatron's back, punching holes into his already-damaged armor and causing Megatron to groan in pain.

"You stay away from my men, Megatron!" Optimus demanded angrily as he continued aiming his gun down. As Megatron lay face-down, looking over his shoulder and up at Optimus, his eyes narrowed, and he said, "It would appear I am in need of some assistance."

A barrage of blasts ambushed Optimus from behind, causing him to yell in pain as he stumbled off Megatron, who rose to his feet. A tan robot ran over, aiming blasters on arms and shoulders at Optimus, who was still recovering from the initial assault. A large, black helicopter came in from above and fired a pair of missiles down at Hot Shot, enveloping him in flames. The helicopter then transformed as it dropped down, and it turned into a heavily armored robot that aimed its weapons at Red Alert. Red Alert groaned in pain as he saw what was happening, and he rolled over and aimed his rifle at the Decepticon.

A large blast hit the Decepticon from the flank, knocking him clean off his feet and sending him crashing to the ground. Hot Shot ran out of a dust cloud, and the axle that was normally located on top of his shoulders had pivoted so that the tire aimed forward. He aimed his wrists down at the Decepticon while Red Alert struggled to his feet, but the Decepticon aimed his wrist and fired a missile at Hot Shot. Hot Shot was hit square in the chest and sent flying through the air, and while he crashed into the ground, Red Alert got up and fired his rifle at the Decepticon. The Decepticon was knocked down, but Megatron came in from behind, prompting Red Alert to turn around urgently.

I made to go in, but Dan grabbed my arm and held me back, but neither of us said a word as we continued to watch. Red Alert aimed his rifle at Megatron, but Megatron fired his blaster twice into his gut, knocking him off his feet and sending the rifle clattering away. Megatron came right on top of Red Alert and aimed his blaster down, and Red Alert lay helpless to defend himself. Optimus and the other newcomer were in an all-out brawl, but Optimus was pounding the paint off of the Decepticon.

"Come on, Demolisher," Optimus said to him, "you can do better than that."

Demolisher tried putting up a defense, but as soon as he put his arms up, Optimus knocked them down and continued assaulting him.

"Hey, I specialize in long-range combat; not this hand-to-hand crap!" As soon as he said it Optimus rammed his fist into Demolisher's jaw, lifting him into the air and sending him crashing to the ground. Demolisher tried to get back to his feet, but Optimus aimed his gun down and fired three shots, tearing apart Demolisher's torso and causing him to lurch with each shot. Demolisher stayed down while Optimus came over him, and he stepped on his chest as he aimed his gun down at Demolisher's head.

Demoisher groaned in pain as he looked up at the gun, and he said, "What are you waiting for?"

Optimus then retrained his blaster and fired at Demolisher's collar, causing him to immediately lose consciousness.

"You shot him in his conscience apparatus so that he would simply shut down, but you could bring him back to life," Megatron said as he stood nearby. "Merciful as always, Prime."

Optimus looked past him at Red Alert who was lying on the ground without moving. Optimus took a deep breath and said in an angry voice, "Did you kill him?"

"What do you think?" Megatron said simply.

Optimus looked down with a pained expression, and he said in a soft voice, "I'm sorry, Red Alert. I never meant for this to happen to you."

"There will be time to mourn when you join him in the afterlife," Megatron stated. "Come, Prime. Let's finish this, once and for all." Optimus aimed his gun at Megatron, who made no effort to counter, but a pained shout made them both look around. Hot Shot was on top of the other Decepticon, punching him in the head repeatedly as the Decepticon tried to buck him off.

"Come on, Blackout, you want some more? Huh?" The Decepticon Blackout pulled at Hot Shot's arms to try and get him off, but Hot Shot kept his grip tight. Finally, Blackout brought his arm up and opened a wrist blaster, aiming it at Hot Shot, who looked at it and said, "Uh oh." Hot Shot dropped off the instant before Blackout pulled the trigger, and he ran away just as the Decepticon turned around to aim his blaster at him.

Blackout's chest then exploded, knocking him off his feet while pieces flew in all directions. Red Alert lay on the ground with his rifle held out towards Blackout, and with a pained grin on his face, he said, "Gotcha!"

"Red Alert!" Optimus said in awe.

"Hm, I must have missed," Megatron commented casually. "It won't happen again." He aimed his blaster down at Red Alert, but Optimus wrapped his arms around Megatron's throat from behind, pulling him back while Megatron fired up into the air. Optimus pulled Megatron down and slammed him into the ground, and he bent down and started wailing on Megatron repeatedly.

Hot Shot ran in towards Blackout, who was still getting back to his feet, and Hot Shot punched him in the jaw, knocking him back to his knees while Red Alert fired another rifle blast. This one hit Blackout in the throat, knocking out several pieces and leaving his head holding on by circuits. Hot Shot pulled out a blaster and put it up in Blackout's neck, and he fired three blasts into his head, blowing it off completely and leaving Blackout to drop to the ground. Before he even fully landed, Hot Shot ran straight over at Megatron and Optimus, who were in the middle of a fistfight.

Hot Shot aimed his blaster at Megatron as he and Optimus fought, but he couldn't get a clear shot, and instead dove straight in. Megatron traded blows with both Optimus and Hot Shot, and the two quickly managed to get the upper hand. That was when Megatron got in a quick shot with his wrist blaster at Optimus's gut, and the compounded blasts from the weapon blasted the Autobot leader back through the air. Hot Shot didn't even falter as he went in for another punch, but Megatron spun around and intercepted the hit with his arm. Hot Shot's fist bounced off Megatron's armor, leaving him unable to follow through.

Megatron made no hesitation when he wrapped his hand around Hot Shot's throat, lifting him up into the air and holding him face-to-face. Hot Shot struggled relentlessly against him, but Megatron's grasp held firm. "It's time you were swatted, fly," Megatron said to him. He held out his other hand, and a black dagger came out of his palm, rooted into his body, and Hot Shot's eyes widened.

All of us looked on in horror, and Optimus shouted out, "_Don't do it!_" Megatron thrusted the dagger into Hot Shot's gut, and then tore it out through one side before swing it back through, severing Hot Shot completely in two.

"_Hot Shot!_" Red Alert yelled in terror.

Megatron swung Hot Shot's top half around and flung him through the air, sending him crashing to the ground next to Red Alert, who urgently examined him. Megatron was immediately tackled by Optimus, but the Decepticon Leader countered the attack, hitting him in the gut with all of his strength and leaving him paralyzed with pain. Megatron aimed his blaster and fired a single shot into Optimus's chest, but Megatron grabbed his arm before he could fall. Megatron wrenched Optimus's arm towards him and hammered it with his elbow, almost completely severing it to the point where it was attached by a few circuits.

Megatron grabbed Optimus by the throat and swung him around, chucking him through the air so that he came straight down on top of us. Nichi, Dan and I all dove in different direction as Optimus's heavy body crashed to the ground, raising up dust around us all. The dust cleared, and I was on my hands and knees, looking over at Optimus as he lay nearby, looking at me.

Optimus coughed weakly, and he said, "Mathew Withau. I'm sorry you were burdened with this battle. Earth never should have had to succumb to the same war that our planet Cybertron did. We tried to keep you out of it, but you became involved nonetheless. I ask you one last favor, in the hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me for being so weak."

"Yeah, what is it?" I said, moving closer so that he didn't have to talk as loud.

"Stop him," Optimus begged. I could see a clear liquid coming out of one eye, and this sight made my stomach clench. "End his reign of terror. You are the only one who is able to do it. Don't hesitate, and don't stop to think about it. If you put every effort into it, I know you can win. Please, you must do this. For your world, and for ours. For every world. If he wins this battle, he will continue to purge the universe of all life. You must keep that from happening. Hot Shot died so that you would be able to pick up where he left off. Don't let his death be in vain. Please, Mathew, I beg you."

My throat and stomach had clenched up, but I nodded. Optimus took on a small smile, and he said, with one last breath, "Thank you." His eyes shut and he lost consciousness, and I looked at him, at all of his injuries. He seemed to still be alive, but had been rendered unconscious.

Heavy footsteps made me look around, and Megatron was standing thirty feet away, looking down at the two of us.

"So are you going to do it?" he asked. "Are you going to take on the will of that piece of garbage and try and defeat me?"

I made some hand signs, causing flames to erupt on all sides of me. "_Fire Style: Fire God Jutsu!_"


	154. Chapter 151: Return of the Fire God

Two more chapters until the two-part Series Finale.

* * *

RETURN OF THE FIRE GOD

"_Fire Style: Fire God Jutsu!_" Flames erupted on all sides of me, tearing the ground apart as I got to my feet. I disappeared in a burst of speed, blasting up flames and rubble behind me, and I rammed my fire-engulfed fist straight into Megatron's face. An explosion of flames blasted up into the air, and Megatron skidded backwards out of the fire cloud, tearing the ground apart along the way. I shot out of the flames like a bullet, flying straight at Megatron with flames concentrating all across my body. Megatron tried aiming his blaster at me, but I instantly closed the gap between us and let out another burst of flames, blasting him back even further.

I landed on the ground and held my arm out, and I fired from my palm three fireballs that flew after Megatron. The fireballs closed in and crashed into him, creating a third explosion that blasted out the ground, sending smoke and flames into the air. Megatron flew out of the fire and crashed into the ground, and he looked around in my direction, thinking to himself, _Where did all this power come from? Has he really had something like this up his sleeve the entire time?_

I appeared behind him, squatted on the ground with my hands planted at my sides. Megatron aimed his blaster around at me, but I shot up into the air, coming thirty feet above him with the Tiger sign weaved. "_Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!_" Enhanced with the _Fire God_, _Fireball Jutsu_ turned into a gigantic wave of flames that barreled down at Megatron. Megatron's eyes widened as the light of the flames glowed off his armor, and the _Fireball_ crashed into him like a meteor, creating an enormous explosion that sent walls of flame rising into the sky.

I hovered at the top of the explosion, looking down at the carnage that threw fiery light across the city. A cloud of fire under my feet kept me elevated, and as the flames faded, a cloud of smoke took their place. In the midst of the smoke, a shadowy form kneeled on the ground before straightening back up, and the smoke cloud cleared to reveal Megatron, badly damaged in the assault. He had tears all across his armor, and he was panting heavily in pain and exhaustion. The _Fire God Jutsu_ continued to rage around me, and I braced myself to charge in again.

In a flash, Megatron aimed his blaster at me and fired, but I came to the side of it in a burst of speed, letting the blast fly by me. I then bent down and rammed my fire-engulfed fist into the ground, sending a wave of erupting flames towards Megatron, who was in no position to dodge or defend. The flames hit him and exploded violently, blasting up smoke and ruble off the ground and shrouding him in a cloud of fire. I then made some hand signs and said, "_Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!_" I exhaled and blew out a barrage of powerful fireballs that flew through the air like missiles, spreading out and then converging on Megtron's position from all sides.

The _Phoenix Flower Jutsu_ collided into him and generated another massive explosion, blasting an enormous crater into the ground and sending up smoke and rubble into the air. I lowered my arms and braced myself, waiting for whatever was about to happen. A barrage of light-purple blasts came out of the smoke like machine gun bullets, and my eyes widened just as I disappeared, leaving flames in my wake as the blasts flew by. I reappeared in the air over the smoke cloud, and another barrage of blasts came up at me.

I twisted through the air, letting the first blast fly by me, and I swung my arms around repeatedly, generating walls of fire that intercepted the other four blasts. I dropped down and landed on the ground, and Megatron charged out of the dust clout with his shoulder held forward, and his heavy footfalls rumbled the ground with each step. I clapped my hands together and formed flames between them as I pulled them apart, and I then brought my arms to one side and threw them forward, firing off a wave of flames that came at Megatron.

Megatron stopped cold and held his arm out, forming his shield that blocked the flames, causing them to rage around on all sides of him. While keeping the flames going out of one hand, I brought the other hand around to my opposite side, forming a coat of fire around it as I swiped it through the fire stream. The flames exploded in a chain reaction, starting from me and coming over to Megatron, and all of the flames floating in the air around him caused an intense explosion that pounded the air, blasting the ground apart and sending rubble in all directions.

"I don't suppose he's dead yet," I said to myself as I lowered my arms. The smoke and flames finally cleared, and what I saw made me let a small smile slip. Megatron was on the ground, pieces and parts spread out around him, and his teeth were gritted as he growled angrily, looking at me with the utmost hate.

"What kind of…" he began. "What kind of person are you?"

"I am someone who is done letting you hurt my friends," I answered. "I am sick and tired of you and your kind tormenting us, throwing everything you have in our direction when we have done absolutely _nothing_ to you. You've wrecked our towns and killed our people, knowing that we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves. Do you know what that is? That is cowardice. That is the height of spinelessness and fear, and you hiding behind your armor and weapons can't hide it."

Megatron's growling grew distinctly louder as he planted his arm on the ground under him, and started trying to get back to his feet. "Oh, I'm sorry, did that touch a nerve?" I asked as I sparked flames across both hands. "How's this for ya': you won't get off this planet alive. I'm here to make sure of that, and looking at you right now, I'm pretty confident I can pull it off."

Megatron's turret aimed at me and fired, but I jumped to the side of it, letting it fly past just before disappearing in a burst of speed. I rammed my fire-engulfed fist into the back of Megatron's head, plowing him down into the ground as flames erupted on all sides of us. I stood over Megatron with my fist pressing down on him, and all of the flames flying through the air around us started coming together in five different spots. Megatron looked over his shoulder to see what was happening, and he rolled over and swung his fist around, knocking it into my arms held out in defense and sending me flying off of him.

I skidded backwards across the ground, trailing flames from my feet as I went, and as I moved I aimed my arms forward and fired several fireballs at Megatron. Megatron aimed his arm at me, palm out, and fired off several blasts from his hand that intercepted the fireballs, causing an explosion that pounded flames against energy. I waited in anticipation for the smoke and flames to clear, and I had my arms held out, flames concentrated into my palms. Something caught my attention out of the corners of my eye, and I looked around to see all of the metal parts spread out across the battlefield rolling towards Megatron.

My eyes widened in horror as I registered this, and I immediately fired a wave of flames through the smoke. The fire spread out through the air in all directions on the other side of the smoke, and I waited apprehensively for what was about to happen. The smoke and fire finally died down, and Megatron stood there, completely repaired, without a scratch in his armor.

He looked at me with a triumphant grin on his face, and he said, "That's much better. I believe I've become accustomed to your battle style, particularly with that ridiculously overpowered technique of yours. So come, show me what all that power allows." Megatron's eyes narrowed as Dan came down at him from behind with his energy-enhanced sword raised, but Megatron spun around, grabbing the blade without sustaining a scratch in his hand. Megatron rammed his opposite fist directly into Dan, blasting up dust and sending him flying through the air.

Dan smashed through half a dozen buildings and raised a line of dust across seventy feet before coming to a rest. "_Dan!_" I yelled as I charged up flames into my hands. A current of electricity flew at Megatron from the side, but he put his arm up and intercepted it without sustaining a scratch to his armor. He looked over and saw Nichi standing thirty feet away from him, and when he aimed his blaster at her, I brought my foot down on top of him from above. A burst of flames rose into the air, illuminating the battleground around us, and when they died seconds later, I was pressing my fire-engulfed foot down on Megatron.

He had his arm held out in defense, the metal slightly scorched by the flames, but he swung his arm outward, sending me flying back through the air. As I flipped through the air, I conjured flames under my feet to keep me elevated, and I then skidded to a halt on them before shooting straight at Megatron. I held my arm out and concentrated fire into my fist as I approached him, but Megatron aimed his turret at me and fired. I quickly threw both arms out and hit the blast with a small burst of fire, causing an explosion that sent smoke and flames into the air.

Megatron aimed his blaster at the smoke cloud, but I appeared ten feet above him with fire trailing from my palms, and I threw a stream of flames down at him that blasted up smoke and rubble. I came down and landed on the ground behind him, and I just barely managed to swerve out of the way of a light-purple blast that flew right by my shoulder. I spun around and aimed my palms at the smoke cloud, but a yellow blast shot out, hitting the ground at my feet and blasting me back through the air.

As I flew back, I aimed my palms at the smoke cloud and fired off a series of fireballs, and right as Megatron stepped out, he was hit head-on. The fireballs ignited massive explosions that tore the ground apart around Megatron, sending flames shooting out in all directions. A wide tendril of flames came out of the fire cloud and shot straight at me, and I instinctively reached my arms out as if to grab the fire. The fire came within two feet of my palms, and I suddenly felt the sensation as though something was pulling against my hands.

My eyes narrowed as I spread both arms out to my sides, and the flames split in two and followed suit, coming to either side of me. The flames around Megatron cleared, and the moment his face peered out at me, I threw both arms in his direction and sent all of the flames around me colliding into him. Fire ruptured the ground as a shockwave blasted through the air, but Megatron stepped out like nothing had happened and aimed his palm at me. I disappeared in a burst of speed to avoid the barrage of blasts he fired, and I reappeared to his right, twenty feet away, bent down to the ground.

I grabbed my sword handle at the back of my waist, and as I concentrated my chakra the way I had been doing since I took on Sasuke, the flames that flowed off the blade were so big and intense that my scabbard was incinerated instantly. Megatron bent his legs and readied himself for my assault, and I swung my sword around and fired off a tremendous wave of fire, tearing the ground apart as it came at him. An explosion of pure flames rose a hundred feet over Saint Peters, and sent a tsunami of fire washing down over the rubble.

In the midst of the fiery light that had enveloped the area, darkening everything around it, Dan leaped through the air with Nichi in his arms. A sea of flames rushed across the ground under him as he landed on the roof of a slanted building, and as he set her down, the two of them looked out over the battlefield.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Nichi asked.

"Yeah," Dan answered. "He's going to be okay."

I dipped through the fire with my sword held out, and I swung it outward, raising a wave of flames that came up overhead. Megatron stepped back as he looked up at the wave, and it came down on top of him just as he held his arm out. The fire washed over him, concealing him completely in blinding orange, and I came to the side of him with my sword once again raised. An arm reached out of the fire and grabbed my blade, and Megatron stepped out to look down at me, and I tried to wrench my sword out of his grasp. Megatron kept his grip firm, and his hand suddenly became shrouded in light-purple energy.

All of the flames around us cleared away in an instant, causing my eyes to widen in shock as I looked around us. "I have had enough of you," Megatron said to me. "It is time this petty squabble came to an end."

He held his other arm up and aimed his wrist blaster at me, and my eyes narrowed as my teeth gritted while flames reappeared around my body. I stepped in and thrust my fist at Megatron, hitting him in the gut and blasting him with a wave of fire that knocked him back a step. I bent down and readied my opposite fist, and I then sprung up and pounded him with all of my strength, but he didn't lift an inch. "Come on," I said to him, "get up!" I continued my assault, punching Megatron again and again with all my strength, and with each strike flames blasted out from the contact point. With each strike, Megatron was forced back a step, and I started coming low for each blow, trying to knock him towards the sky.

As I continued hitting him, I told him, "I said get…." I jumped up and hit him in the top of the head with my foot as I came down, forcing him to duck as I bent and locked my legs, building up fire into my fist. "_UP!_" I jumped up and hit Megatron in the chest with all of my power, letting out a burst of flame that acted as a pressure cooker, sending him up into the air. As he flew I made some hand signs, and I held my arms up at Megatron. A continuous wave of flames ignited off of my fingertips and flew up at him, spreading around Megatron and keeping him airborne.

As more and more fire came into the air around him, the flames started to condense in on Megatron, forming a sphere on his body. The sphere gradually grew as it enveloped him completely, and when Megatron was concealed completely in a cocoon of fire, I finally ceased the flames. I continued holding my arms up at Megatron, and I said, "_Fire Style: Volcanic Crater!_"

A meteor of pure fire came down from the cocoon and collided into the ground, unleashing a wave of flames that burst out from the impact point. I stood strong against the shockwave as it passed over me, and I watched the ball of light that was the crater Megatron had landed in. After about a minute the explosion faded, and I was left standing in front of a crater that had a plume of smoke rising out of it. A mechanical, badly damaged hand reached out of the smoke and grasped the ground, and Megatron slowly pulled himself out of the crater.

Every inch of his armor was in shambles, and the horn stemming from the right side of his head had been broken off completely. Megatron was grunting in pain and exhaustion, and he glared up at me with the utmost hate in his eyes.

"I told you," I said as I looked back down at him. "I'm not gonna let you hurt us anymore."

"Yes, you've made that abundantly clear," Megatron responded. "However, I am here to ensure that you are not the one to walk away from this battle. I didn't want to go to these measures, but you are leaving me no other choice. This battle is now over."

He pressed a button on his wrist, and the sun was blocked out completely, casting an ominous shadow over Saint Peters. As I looked up my eyes slowly widened, and I gazed upon the colossal space cruiser hovering over the city.


	155. Chapter 152: Over the Earth

One more chapter until the two-part Series Finale.

* * *

OVER THE EARTH

"_Is the Supremacy that giant purple ship that destroyed us a few weeks ago?" I asked. _

"_Oh, no," Starscream answered. "No, that was my own personal cruiser, the Revolution. No, the Supremacy is three times bigger than that, and makes the Revolution look like a kid's toy," he explained. _

Starscream's words rang through my head as I looked up at the enormous, metallic gray space cruiser that sent all my hopes crashing to the ground. Starscream's description had been to the letter; the Supremacy, Megatron's flagship, was easily three times as big as the Revolution we had fought back in the Hidden Leaf Village. The Supremacy completely blocked out the sky above Saint Peters, throwing us all into darkness. This space cruiser could have easily sheltered a large city and still have plenty of room to spare.

I paid Megatron no notice as he rose back to his feet, and his words barely registered as he said, "This is the end of your world." His body split into a dozen vertical bars that shot up to the ship, but I didn't even react as I continued looking up at the Supremacy. Dan and Nichi came up next to me, along with Dan's team, who were all equipped with the Mini-Cons we had managed to gather until now, and we all looked up at the ship as it loomed over the city. There were half a dozen enormous gun turrets that took aim all across Saint Peters, but right at that moment a holographic screen appeared under the belly of the ship.

Megatron's face was plastered in the image, and he said to us, in a booming voice that echoed across the battleground, "This is the end of all life on your world. Worry not; your deaths will be short and painless. Merciful. Rest easily knowing there is nothing you can do to prevent it." The screen disappeared, and a gun at the center of the ship's belly came down and aimed directly at us, building up power into the barrel.

"Jesus Christ," Dan said in awestruck fear.

"Matt, what do we do?" Nichi asked.

"I…," I began, shaking my head hopelessly. "I don't know."

"I don't think staying here would be a good idea," Ryland said to us as he looked up at the barrel.

"What the hell's the point of trying to run?" Clinton said as he shrugged his shoulders. "There's no way we can outrun that."

Tsunade landed on the ground nearby, and she straightened up to look at the ship as well, every bit as much fear in her eyes as ours.

"Schroeder," she addressed, "can you put up a shield around us?"

Nichi shook her head and said, "Not big enough to defend against that."

"Look," Tsunade said to the group at large. "The best thing for us to do right now is to escape to the Leaf. We can draw up battle plans there and hopefully try and mount a counterattack. Maybe together we can chase that ship off."

"No," I said. "Nothing this world can put to bare is gonna be a fight for that ship."

Dan gritted his teeth as if he wanted to say something, but he remained silent. Small, mechanical footfalls made us all look around, and my eyes widened as Flashbang walked up to us.

I looked at my bare arm before looking back at him, and I said, "Sorry, buddy. I guess you got knocked loose at some point along the way." Flashbang ran over and transformed, attaching to my arm as a rocket launcher mounted on my wrist.

_You can fight,_ he said to me telepathically.

"How?" I responded out loud, causing the group to look at me.

_You have one final card left to play, which will be able to defeat Megatron once and for all and save your world._

"Well what the hell is it?" I asked.

_Us._

My eyes widened in shock as I registered this, and Nichi said, "Matt, what's he saying to you?"

"Flashbang?" I said as I looked down at him.

_Something you don't know about us is that, while we can attach to humans to form weapons, we can attach to each other to form stronger weapons. The more of us that combine with each other, the stronger we become. Mathew, do you understand what I'm saying?_

My eyes were wide in shock as I listened to this, and I said, "Yeah. Yeah, I get it."

"Matt," Nichi said, demanding clarification.

"Alright," I said to Flashbang, "let's make it happen."

All of the Mini-Cons that Dan's team were equipped with jumped off of them, and they returned to their robot forms and ran over to me. They all gathered around and jumped, transforming back to their weapons modes and converging on me. Bit by bit they took over my body, coating me in a suit of heavy, white armor equipped with a dozen different weapons. I raised my right arm, which had a gun attached to the right side of my wrist and going forward past my hand, a glass plate lowered down over my face, and I activated the thruster on my back. I shot straight up at the ship and held my gun up, and as I approached the ship, all guns trained on me.

Without me having to do anything, a sphere of light-blue, transparent energy appeared around me, and as the turrets fired, my shield intercepted all of the ammunition and left me unharmed. When I came within fifty feet of the ship's belly, I aimed my gun up and fired, blasting out a hole in the exterior and slipping in through the residing smoke. I landed inside the ship amidst the vacuum that sucked out every loose piece of equipment through the hole I had blown, but my weight kept me rooted where I was. Decepticlones that had been stationed in this part of the ship immediately started firing at me, but their aim was thrown off by all of the machinery flying around them.

I held my left arm out and fired off two missiles, which hit opposite sides of the corridor and blasted out everything within thirty feet of their impact points, destroying all of the Decepticlones in sight. I reactivated my thruster and shot forward, flying straight through all of the automated defenses that the Supremacy had installed. The computer screen that shown on the inside of my face plate showed a large, yellow blip situated up and to my right. I aimed my gun and blasted out a hole through a wall and the ceiling on the other side, and I flew straight up through it and headed towards the blip.

I continued flying and blasting my way through the Supremacy, and along the way a loud emergency alarm blared through the halls, but I flew too quickly for the Decepticlones on board to attack me. I blasted my way through ten walls and six floors, and I finally came out in a massive room that was the size of a large building. The room was coated in metal and wires, and at the back, was a large, glass sphere that looked like a light-bulb, situated in a metal mount.

"I see." I looked over and saw Megatron stepping towards me, and I immediately aimed both arms at him. "It seems that because you've acquired a taste of Cybertronian power, you feel you can win," he commented to me. "I promise I will prove you wrong. And I will do it with the very weapons that your people had originally collected."

And that was when I noticed what was different about him. He had twelve attachments to his body, all of different colors, and I recognized all of them. They were the Mini-Cons that we had collected a year ago that had been stolen by the Decepticlones. I now remembered Starscream had told me about them being on the Supremacy. My eyes narrowed, and I immediately fired my gun. Megatron swiped his arm through the air, knocking aside the blast like it was nothing, and he aimed his wrist at me and fired a single missile. I came to the side of it and aimed my left arm at him, firing off two missiles that flew straight at Megatron.

A red metal box with wings on either side activated, giving Megatron a burst of speed that sent him to the side of the missiles so quickly that they weren't able to home in on him accurately. Both of them hit the wall behind him, and as the fire from the explosions blasted out, Megatron disappeared. My eyes widened, and my face plate immediately activated infra-red vision that instantly tracked his location off to my right. I flew straight up into the air as Megatron fired another missile at me, and as I flew over him, I aimed my arm down and fired a pair of Flashbang's rockets at him.

Megatron took on a smile, and he said, "Your Mini-Con can't compare to mine!" He aimed his arm up at me and fired a set of four rockets, and all six of them collided into each other and blasted smoke and flames into the air. Two rockets flew out at me, and my eyes narrowed as my teeth gritted while I held my arm out, and I formed a shield that bounced the rockets off like rubber, sending them both towards the ceiling in different directions. Megatron took on an angry glare as he aimed his arm up at me, and he fired a ball of yellow energy at me the size of a basketball.

Recognizing the blast, my eyes widened in horror, and a yellow box on my back identical in shape to Megatron's activated, sending me shooting to the side and allowing the blast to fly into the air. I aimed my arm down, and with a single pull of the trigger I fired a burst of five tiny, red blasts that shot down at Megatron, but he held his palm out and blocked them with his bare hand without sustaining so much as a scratch. Megatron then ran towards me and aimed his arm up, but I activated my jet thruster and flew straight over his head, leaving him to stop and turn around to keep his aim on me. I came down and veered around, flying at Megatron with both arms stretched out and firing all manner of rockets and missiles at him.

Megatron grimaced as he crossed his arms, and a massive explosion blasted smoke and flames through the ship, and I flew out of the other side and hung in the air, aiming both arms down at Megatron. A yellow blast shot out of the smoke and hit me head-on, knocking me out of the air and sending me crashing into the ground. I struggled to get back to my feet, but Megatron ran out of the smoke and aimed his blaster down at me, but I rolled onto my back and fired from both arms. A series of red and yellow blasts hit Megatron, and as the yellow ones hit they sent several more blasts flying out from the impact point, but he wasn't fazed as he aimed his arm at me once again.

I shot straight at him just as he fired, and his blast bounced off my armor as I closed in with my fist raised. A compartment on my arm opened up and revealed a long blade that curved forward over my hand, and I swung my arm and rammed the blade into Megatron's. His knife, rooted into his hand, fended off my blade effortlessly, and he thrust his foot out and kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying back and slamming into a wall. Before the echo of the crash died, Megatron aimed his blaster at me and fired, hitting me with five blasts that exploded on impact, blowing me straight through the wall behind me and into the next room.

I struggled to get back to my feet, but Megatron stepped forward and fired a set of four rockets from the Mini-Con Hailstorm, and they all hit me in the back and knocked me straight back to the ground. A tiny spurt of blood hit the ground under me as I rolled over, and I fired a second combination of red and yellow blasts, from Mini-Cons Skirmish and Overwatch respectively. Megatron held out his arm, and a yellow plate on the palm formed an energy shield that intercepted all of the blasts, and the Mini-Con Deflector sent my gunfire in all directions. I ceased fire and lined up Flashbang, but Megatron fired a homing missile from the Mini-Con Lock-On, and I immediately ducked it, losing my aim.

Megatron held his arm out at me, and a pair of blasters mounted to each side fired a single ribbon of energy at me that I held my arms out to intercept. The ribbon hit me head-on, and the tearing power of the Mini-Con Aurora slowly started eating through my armor. I gritted my teeth and dove to the side to let the beam come past me, and the instant I hit the ground I fired Flashbang at Megatron, who came to the side and let the rockets fly by. He then charged me head-on with his dagger held at the ready, and I held my arm at my side with my palm facing out, just as a small, gray, metal ball dropped into my hand.

I threw the ball at Megatron's feet as he came at me, and the grenade that the Mini-Con Slapshot produced exploded violently, knocking Megatron off his feet and sending him crashing to the ground. I then aimed both arms down and fired a series of two types of metal balls, one gray and smooth with covered bulbs at each end, and the other black with spikes on all sides. The mines, fired by Claymore for gray and Watchdog for black, landed all around Megatron before all exploding at one time. The force of the dozen mines ignited a fiery blaze and a shockwave that knocked me back, causing me to cross my arms over my face in defense as I skidded backwards across the ground.

I lowered my arms and flames roared off the ground, but they quickly died on the metal floor, leaving an enormous scorch mark centered around a huddled-up form. Heavy, metallic breathing echoed off the walls around me, and I flexed both fists, preparing to either attack or defend.

"It's truly astonishing, isn't it?" Megatron said as he came to one knee. Most of his armor was torn apart, but all of his Mini-Cons were glowing with light-purple energy. "The power of the Mini-Cons dwarfs anything your world can bring to bear. If I may let you in on a little secret, their strength is unmatched by anything in this galaxy. Back on Cybertron, our home world was thrown into complete war, all in order to obtain the might that these beings hold. At the height of battle, when our world was in ruins and hope for recovery was lost, the Mini-Cons fled. They gathered in a single ship and left Cybertron to be destroyed by us.

"They came as far away as they could, hoping that they would never be bothered again by anyone. Their intent was to find a world without life to scatter themselves out across, all because they were sick of being used as weapons for war. But we followed them. I sent an army of Decepticlones, headed by Starscream, to chase down the Mini-Cons in their ship and bring them back to Cybertron. We caught up with them halfway into their journey, and they were forced to flee. They came to the nearest world they could find, and they abandoned their ship. They escaped to all corners of your world to make it as difficult as possible for our forces to locate them. But they underestimated us. They underestimated our ability to bring a world to its knees simply so that nothing would stand in the way of our acquisition.

"Earthling, I hope you recognize just how much power our species has bestowed upon you. With the amount of power you have right now, you could purge your planet of all life without any effort at all. Think of what would happen if you had _all_ the Mini-Cons."

Truth be told, that was a concept I did _not_ want to comprehend. Megatron was right; the combined power of all of my Mini-Cons gave me more power than I had ever had in my life. If a single person were to become equipped with _every_ Mini-Con in existence, I couldn't imagine what would happen. And now wasn't the time to think about it. I aimed my arm forward and said,

"Let's finish this once and for all, Megatron."

"Oh, no," Megatron said with a soft, malicious laugh. All of the Mini-Cons across his body started spreading out, coating him in armor and weapons. "I am not Megatron anymore," he declared. When the transformation set, he dawned a full suit of dark-blue armor, and he had a thin, black, dual-bladed weapon that he held like a javelin. "_I am Galvatron!_"


	156. Chapter 153: Bring You Back Down

Here are the final chapters of Naruto Chronicles.

* * *

BRING YOU BACK DOWN

Nichi, Dan, his team, and Tsunade all looked up at the Supremacy as it hovered in place over Saint Peters, and while all of its guns were still trained across the city, none of them were firing.

"I guess Matt stopped them," Nichi said.

"Yeah," Dan agreed. "Now he needs to win."

This new armor that the Mini-Cons had given Megatron was so complex and intricate that it roughly mimicked the human muscular system. His black dagger had turned into a ten-foot-long square pole whose tips curved into points, and he held it at the center like a javelin. He had a helmet that covered everything except his eyes down to his mouth, and his horns were now much thicker and sharper than before.

"The power you possess can't stand against the strength that I wield!" he told me as he held his javelin out.

"Alright, Megatron, let's bring this to an end, once and for all," I said as I took up a battle-ready position.

"You don't listen well, human," he said to me. "I am no longer Megatron. This new power has made me far stronger than what I was before. I am now known as Galvatron."

"Fine, whatever," I said to him. "It doesn't matter, because I'm still going to kill you."

Galvatron aimed his turret at me and fired, but I came to the side of it just as the projectile blasted a hole in the wall behind me, and I aimed my arm out and fired a pair of rockets at him. Galvatron held his javelin out and swung it around, knocking both rockets away and leaving him unharmed while he aimed his arm at me. He fired one of Lock-On's homing missiles at me, but I activated the Mini-Con Shieldwall, forming a light-blue shield around me that intercepted the missile.

Galvatron charged me head-on with his javelin raised, and I held my arm with the wrist blade extended, waiting for his arrival. Megatron swung his blade into mine, and his mass drove me back across the ground, and we clashed blades several times as I was forced back, but I blocked his strike every time. Galvatron eventually drove me into a wall, and the sudden shock of impact broke my guard, making me grunt as he aimed the tip of his javelin at my face. As he thrust his blade forward I instinctively threw my arm out, knocking it into his and throwing off his aim so that his javelin impaled into my shoulder.

Galvatron pinned me against the wall, and he pressed in on me as blood dripped to the ground from my wound, and I grasped the javelin as I growled in frustration. I finally held my other arm out so that my fist aimed up, and I hit Galvatron directly in the chin with a pair of missiles, sending him stumbling back as he roared in pain. He inadvertently pulled his javelin out of my shoulder, spattering blood to the ground as it came out, but I paid it no mind and aimed both arms at him.

I fired another round of Skirmish with Overwatch at him, and the multitude of blasts sent Galvatron stumbling back even more, and I then replaced the blasts with four rockets from Flashbang and two missiles from the Mini-Con Failsafe. The missiles and rockets collided into Galvatron, and the combined explosions blasted off pieces of his armor, sending him tumbling to the ground. I lowered one arm and kept my wrist blade up, and I charged in while Galvatron was down, but before I could get to him he aimed his wrist at me and fired a missile.

I stopped cold and came to the side of the missile as it flew by, and this gave him the time he needed to get back to his feet. I dove in and swung my wrist blade at him, but he swung his javelin around and knocked my arm away, and then brought the opposite end around and slashed me across the gut. My armor managed to keep the blade from hitting my flesh, and as he completed the swing I stepped in and punched him in the jaw, knocking him back and shattering his guard.

I aimed my arm at him and fired an arc of bright-purple lightning, and the power of the Mini-Con Sparkjump drove Galvatron back even more. As I held Galvatron in place with the electricity, I aimed my opposite arm at him and fired a series of bright-blue, heavily concentrated blasts from the Mini-Con Aftershock. The combined blasts quickly put Galvatron on his knees, and he gasped in pain as he tried to outlast my weapons. Sparkjump finally ran out of juice, and I then switched to the Mini-Con Jumpstart, firing a bright-green, much more powerful arc of electricity that hit him in the chest, knocking Galvatron off his feet.

He crashed to the ground, and it seemed as though he was in too much pain to fight back anymore. He had a large incision in his chest where the lightning had hit him, and he was groaning softly as he lay still on the ground. Finally he seemed to snap back to reality, and he looked up at me with a deadly glare.

I waited for him as he got back to his feet, and as I aimed my arms at him I said, "You don't look so hot. I bet you've got about two more rounds in you before you don't get back up. Sound about right?"

Galvatron's eyes narrowed as his teeth clenched, and he said, "Mind your own business, human. The only thing you should be worried about is your impending death, which I promise you _will_ come soon. Be prepared for life to leave your body."

I then scoffed and said, "Man, you talk a lot. When I first saw you, I thought you were a quiet introvert. Turns out you're just as gabby as Starscream. Did he pick that up from you?" I asked with a grin.

Galvatron's eyes narrowed, but he didn't respond, and his turret fired without warning. My eyes widened as the projectile hit me in the gut, blasting me back through the air and sending me slamming into the wall behind me, punching a large dent in the metal before I slid down to the ground. I sat against the wall panting in exhaustion, and I looked up at Galvatron through one half-open eye while blood trickled to the ground from my stomach. The armor across my torso had been severely damaged, but around my naval area there were large plates missing, and blood trickled through the torn metal.

"Good," Galvatron said to me. "That seems to have put you in your place. Now remain there and watch."

He then snapped his fingers, and a large television screen came down out of the ceiling near the wall, facing both of us. Pictured in the screen was a war-torn town that I immediately recognized to be Saint Peters. My eyes narrowed as my teeth gritted, and I tried to get back to my feet but was kept down by the pain of my gut.

"Witness as your entire city is reduced to rubble," Galvatron commanded. Several sets of crosshairs formed on the screen, focusing on points all across the city, and my eyes widened in horror. The screen split into nine sections, one for each set of crosshairs, and the section in the center zoomed in on a point directly below the ship, focusing on Nichi and Dan.

"No!" I yelled as I struggled to get up.

Outside the ship, the guns situated all across the exterior started warming up, and Nichi's and Dan's eyes widened in horror as they looked up upon the gun aimed directly at them.

I managed to get to a point where I was on my feet, squatted down with my hand on the ground in front of me, and the thruster pack on my back roared to life.

A computerized voice in the ship spoke, "Termination sequence fully prepared in five seconds."

"Fire on my mark," Galvatron ordered.

"Four seconds," the computer responded.

I shot forward straight at Galvatron with my arm aimed at him, and he spread his legs and bent his knees, holding his arms out in front of him in preparation.

"Three seconds," the computer announced.

I fired Flashbang at Galvatron, but Galvatron swung his javelin around through the air, knocking both rockets out of the air. I closed in and rammed my fist into his palm, and we both held each other there in struggle.

"Two seconds."

Megatron thrust his leg out, knocking me back through the air, and as I flew back I held both arms out and fired Flashbang and Failsafe.

"One second remaining."

The missiles and rockets collided into Galvatron and raised smoke and flames around him, and I came to a halt in the air with the help of my thruster pack, aiming both arms down at him.

"Termination sequence fully prepared," the computer announced.

Galvatron stepped forward out of the smoke cloud and yelled, "Computer! Begin-!"

Arcs of electricity from both Sparkjump and Jumpstart hit Galvatron square in the chest, stopping his command cold and sending tendrils of electricity shooting across the room. All of the computers and machines became coated in circuits of electricity, and every one of them started shorting out, coughing up tiny puffs of smoke.

"Link to turrets disconnected," the computer announced. "Termination sequence failed."

I came down and landed on the ground, and as I stood there and glared triumphantly at Galvatron, he looked at me with concealed hate in his eyes.

"You were lucky," he informed me. "Rest assured I will lay waste to your city. All that is required is to manually reboot the link to my turrets."

_Dammit, he's right,_ I thought to myself in aggravation. _I have to stop him for good, otherwise he'll just get his guns back online._

I racked my brains for ideas of how to bring Galvatron down, when Flashbang spoke in my mind, _Mathew, you have one last card left to play._

_I do?_ I asked, instantly becoming confused.

_Yes. Tap into our inner cores and draw out all of our energy into one final attack. I will tell you exactly what to do._

As Flashbang explained to me what needed to be done, my eyes narrowed in newfound determination. "Fine, got it," I confirmed to him.

I put both arms to one side and clapped my hands together, and I focused all of the energy from the Mini-Cons attached to me. I felt an enormous surge of power flow into my palms, and I drew them apart to summon forth a ball of light-blue energy. The energy was the size of a basketball, and I held it in one palm as I braced myself to charge.

_It feels just like _Rasengan_, _I thought to myself with a grin. _Naruto would be proud. _

"Don't think you're the only one that can use that trick," Galvatron told me. He held out one arm, and a ball of purple energy the size of his palm appeared in his hand, a third of the size of mine.

I braced myself and shot forward at him, and as Galvatron held his arm out in front of him, I rammed my energy into his. A shockwave blasted out from us, causing the entire ship to rumble violently, and all of the machines around us instantly went haywire. Galvatron and I pressed our attacks against each other, and eventually the metal floor under us began to give. I pushed forward with all of my power, the strength of the Mini-Cons standing behind me and backing me, but Galvatron kept his ground strong, pressing back with equal power. I took a step forward and pressed in even harder, and eventually I could feel a certain rupture happen in Galvatron's energy ball.

His eyes narrowed, but he continued pressing nonetheless, ignoring the diminishing power of his attack. Eventually a small crack formed in his energy ball, spilling bright light out as cracks slowly spread across the entire surface. I gritted my teeth as I made one final shove, and Galvatron's energy shattered with explosive force, blasting a shockwave through the air as I came in. I rammed my energy ball into him, tearing it straight through his arm and gouging out almost a third of his body as I came past him. I landed on the ground behind him, and as the energy ball faded I spun around and aimed my arm at him, and I fired Flashbang right into the back of Galvatron's head.

The twin rockets landed a direct hit, blasting through his armor and sending flames spilling out of his eyes and mouth. Galvatron dropped down to his knees, and I watched as he slowly keeled over, and hit the ground with one final groan. I dropped down to one knee, but as I panted in exhaustion I kept strong, breathing through my creaking bones and torn flesh, looking down at Galvatron's body. I couldn't help but let a small smile break, but as soon as I did the ship lurched to the side.

My eyes widened in shock as I looked around, and Nichi and Dan watched as the ship started diving to the left, descending towards the ground.

"Oh, God," Nichi said softly.

I looked around inside the ship, and I saw the glass sphere at the back of the room, cracks in the surface with smoke spilling out of the center. The automated voice in the ship then said, "Core of the ship has been damaged. Brace for impact in five minutes."

"Damn," I said. The thruster on my back roared to life, and I shot down the hole I had entered the room through, and I followed my path back out, flying out of the belly of the ship as it nosedived down to the ground. I shot straight down and came to the ground within seconds, landing next to Nichi and Dan while Dan's crew and Tsunade gathered around.

All of the Mini-Cons on my body detached and reformed back into their original states, and I straightened up and looked up into the air.

"That ship's gonna crash right into the middle of town," Dan deduced as we all watched.

"An explosion that big will take out everything that's left," Nichi stated.

"We're gonna need to redirect it somehow," Tsunade added.

"Yeah? You got any bright ideas for how we're gonna do that?" I asked as I looked back at her.

"I guess that's why she called us in."

My eyes widened in shock as Kakashi stood behind me, and I turned around to see him with his back to me, hands in his pockets, looking up at the ship as it came down.


	157. Chapter 154: Home

HOME

I looked dumbstruck at Kakashi as he looked up at the Supremacy, and as I stood baffled, I saw the blond, spiky hair out of the corner of my eye.

"Come on, Matt!" Naruto said from a nearby rooftop. He had a confident grin on his face as he looked up at the ship as well, and he said, "We can keep that thing out of the city! We've just gotta hit it with everything we've got!"

I looked between the two of them for a moment before saying, "Where the hell did you two come from?"

"They'd have been here hours ago," Tsunade said to me, "but I told them to stay in the village in case the Decepticlones attacked us too. As soon as you went up into the ship I told the two of them to come here and help."

I looked at her with eyes widened in shock, but as she finished my eyes narrowed in determination, and I turned around and looked up at the ship.

"Anywhere in particular you want us to put this thing?" Kakashi asked.

"I hear there's a nice open field just north of the city where no one will get hurt by its impact," Tsunade suggested.

"Alright, that ship is pointing east, so we just need to hit it as hard as we can to make it turn left," Dan instructed.

"Well, you might wanna hurry, cuz it's about to hit," Nichi said, goading us forward.

I made the Ram sign and activated a _Flight Jutsu_, and as I built up pressure under me, I said, "Let's go, Naruto!" I shot up at the ship as he built up his chakra, and Kakashi activated a _Flight Jutsu_ of his own and shot up after me.

We kept pace with each other as we flew towards the ship, and I said to Kakashi, "You got any big moves that can budge this thing?"

"We just need to hit it with as much force as we can so that we can redirect it. With its momentum, it shouldn't take much," Kakashi explained.

"Good," I said as I made some hand signs. "_Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!_" I blasted out a tremendous stream of fire that rose up and collided into the ship, but the intense flames did nothing to redirect the ship's course.

Kakashi then made a sequence of hand signs and said, "_Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!_" He breathed out an enormous wave of water that took the shape of a dragon as it came up, and the _Water Dragon_ rammed into the side of the ship with full force. It wasn't much, but the ship just barely moved to the left, bringing its course closer to the edge of the city.

Back on the ground, Dan held out a shuriken and imbued it with black plasma energy, and he then made a one-handed sign and became engulfed in a massive puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Dan stood atop a gigantic shuriken that was shrouded in black energy, and he grabbed it with both hands and came down, swinging the shuriken up over him and throwing it at the ship with all his strength. The shuriken flew through the air up at the ship, and Kakashi and I both flew out of the way as it came up between us. The shuriken rammed into the side of the ship, and the impact caused the structure to veer to the left ever so slightly, but it still wasn't enough.

"Dammit!" I spat in anger. "We need more!"

"Then get out of the way!"

Naruto stood on his rooftop, arm held straight up into the air, with bright light shining down on him. His eyes were yellow while his pupils were horizontal rectangles, and his lids were outlined in orange. Naruto wielded an enormous _Rasengan_ that was packed with energy, and it had four curved chakra blades spinning on the outside in a line. Fifty _Shadow Clones_ stood behind Naruto, each of them wielding the same technique, and as one they all braced themselves and brought their arms back.

"_Sage Art!_" Naruto announced. All of his clones swung their arms forward, sending all of their attacks flying up at the ship. "_Rasenshuriken Super Barrage!_"

The _Rasenshurikens_ reflected off of my eyes as I watched them all fly up at me, and with an awestruck expression I said, "What is this?"

Kakashi grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way just as the _Rasenshurikens_ collided into the ship, and they all spawned enormous explosions of pure wind energy that bombarded the ship. All of the explosions blasted out the ship's side and sent it flying to the left, barrel-rolling over itself as it came down, and it crashed into the ground in the field outside the city. The ship's massive structure gouged out a crater into the ground as it skidded across the earth, and gigantic plumes of smoke rose into the sky, taller than the city, marking the ship's crash site.

All of Naruto's _Shadow Clones_ disappeared, and he stood hunched over, looking at his work with triumphant pride, and he chuckled lightly as he panted in exhaustion. I watched as the smoke rose into the air, and I instantly shot in the direction the ship had landed, with Kakashi in hot pursuit. Dan, Nichi, Tsunade and Naruto immediately followed suit, moving through the city as we all converged down at the crash site of the Supremacy. Kakashi and I arrived first, and we both landed on the ground twenty feet out and ran the rest of the way to the ship, and even grounded and destroyed beyond repair, the Supremacy rose a hundred feet over us.

I looked up and down, left and right across the destroyed exterior of the ship, and as something caught my eye I immediately ran over to it. A piece of the ship that rested on the ground was punched out, and I glared down as a mechanical arm reached out. Kakashi came up next to me, and what was left of Galvatron crawled its way out of the Supremacy wreckage, breathing heavily as he dragged his destroyed body out. When his smashed legs were clear of the wreckage, Galvatron came to a rest, laying on his back and looking up at us.

Naruto, Nichi, Dan, and Tsunade all landed next to us, and the six of us looked down at Galvatron's broken body.

"It was simply a numbers game," Galvatron said to me. "You had the power of nearly thirty Mini-Cons at your disposal. I had ten. You had all the advantage in this battle."

"You had better believe it," I confirmed as I glared down at him. "I relied on the power of the Mini-Cons to help me win. You overrated yourself and used only your own power to try and win the war. You tried to do it by yourself, and you lost." Galvatron's eyes narrowed as he looked up at me, and I shrugged and said, "Hey…that's the only reason I can think of why you didn't get the other Mini-Cons around Earth."

Galvatron let out a sigh as he looked up into the sky, and it seemed he had lost all will to fight or resist. Finally he said, "Congratulations. You've managed to accomplish in one year what the Autobots couldn't over eons of war. You've finally defeated the Decepticons. It seems I severely underestimated Earth's ability to fight a war. Protect your planet, human. There are far worse forces out there than me that would threaten your existence."

I remained silent as I looked down at him, and as Galvatron took one last look up at the sky, his eyes faded to black. Grins broke out across the six of us, and we all turned to each other in rejoice.

Naruto and Kakashi exchanged compliments with each other, and I walked up to Naruto and placed my hand on his shoulder. I looked him in the eye and said, "You saved my home by yourself. I owe you everything."

Naruto took on a grin and said, "You did the same for me. We're even now."

I mirrored his grin, and I held out my hand to him. Naruto made no hesitation in taking it, and we stood in camaraderie, as brothers in arms.

As soon as we lowered our arms Nichi jumped forward and wrapped her arms around me, and I held her in my arms, placing my head on her shoulders. She backed off and stood there smiling at me, but before either of us could say anything, Kakashi asked, "Do you need any help cleaning up your city?"

"Uh, yeah," I answered, turning around and looking at the smoke pillars coming from Saint Peters.

"I'll get some people over here from the Leaf. We should hopefully get your town cleaned up in a timely manner," Tsunade offered.

"Yeah, but it's gonna be years before it's livable again," I reminded her.

Kakashi came up behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder, and he said, "Then I recommend we quit worrying about it and get started."

Every effort afterwards was dedicated to rebuilding Saint Peters. Before the war, we had had eight thousand agents working in SNIS. Now, we had three thousand. The Decepticlones had come at us with a total of fifteen thousand troops, and all that was left were stragglers. Estimates of remaining Decepticlone troops worldwide were around three hundred. All of the other units that had invaded the planet had been recalled off world.

In a dimly lit cave, Orochimaru stood in front of his human containment jars, looking at them with a grin. A sword came down and stuck in the ground twenty feet away from him, and he and Kabuto both looked around. I stood atop a ledge, looking down at them both with a straight face.

"You can have that back," I said.

Orochimaru simply stood there looking up at me with a grin on his face, and I disappeared. Neither he nor Kabuto said a word to each other as they stood, watching the spot where I had vanished.

The Autobots made every assistance they could in helping us pick up the pieces after the war. Optimus had called in a team of ten more Autobots that were in the Solar System to help us rebuild. As well as providing reconstruction, they also installed Cybertronian defense systems to help ward off more Decepticon dangers. As I held a machine in place while Red Alert installed it wirelessly, Optimus was overseeing the process.

"Megatron is dead, but the Decepticons are still strong."

"I know," I admitted. "But both their leader, and their second in command brought armies to this world, and now they're both dead. The Decepticons won't want to come here again anytime soon."

Optimus pondered this silently for a moment before saying, "Mathew, what you have done for us is more than you will ever know. You single-handedly defeated an enemy that we could not. You saved your world, and you saved our world. The Autobots are forever indebted to you. And I personally want to thank you."

"You're welcome," I said to him genuinely.

"And thank you for your help in the battle. If you hadn't have shown up when you did, he'd have killed us. And I'm sorry that Hot Shot was killed in the fight."

"Hot Shot died a hero of his world," Optimus assured me. "He is being flown back to Cybertron where he will be given the highest military honors that our planet has to offer. He will be heralded as an Autobot warrior who died for our way of life. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

I took on a smile at this and nodded.

A troop of people walked along a small path, carrying a coffin in their arms. Dan was at the head of them, donning a pressed suit and tie as he led the funeral march. The agents came to a stop right in front of SNIS headquarters, where a stand had been placed. Dan and the other agents placed the coffin on the stand, and they all straightened back up to look down at it.

Nichi, Taylor, Erin, and Tsunade stood in front of a procession of agents that all had come to pay their respects. Dan looked down at the coffin below him, and memories came flooding back, of McKinley finding him as a kid, of the two of them forming SNIS, of fighting together to protect those around them. Tsunade looked on with fierce pride as her friend's life was celebrated, while Nichi, Taylor and Erin witnessed the ceremony in respect for their Director.

Everyone watched in utter silence as McKinley's body was prepared to be buried in the ground, and they all listened respectfully as Dan spoke her eulogy.

Later on, everyone was gathered inside SNIS headquarters. Nichi, Taylor, Erin, Dan, his team, Tsunade, Naruto, Kakashi and I were all in the main hall of headquarters. Optimus and Red Alert were present as well, and so were all of the Mini-Cons.

"It is time for us to return to our home world," Optimus announced. "The Autobot headquarters on Cybertron has already been informed of Megatron's death. I have never heard such tumultuous cheers," he added in an undertone. "Now we must clean up our own world. Ravaged by centuries of war, we have a lot of work to do."

"Good luck," I wished him. Optimus nodded, and he looked down at the Mini-Cons. I looked at them as well, a small army led by Flashbang, that had been joined by the ones Megatron had used in the final battle. And as the realization dawned on me, my heart sank. "I guess that means you guys will be leaving as well," I said, more to Flashbang than anybody.

_We have been honored to fight alongside you,_ he assured me. _But it is time for us to move on. _

"Are you going back to Cybertron?" I asked.

_No,_ Flashbang answered. _We are going to find our own world, where we will be far from others who would use our power for war. We intend to build our own civilization, based upon peace and prosper. We have no intention of interacting with other races._

"I hope you find what you're looking for," I said sincerely.

_Thank you,_ Flashbang acknowledged. _We pray that your world does not see intergalactic war again._

I nodded as I looked with a suppressed grimace, and Flashbang walked over to the other Mini-Cons. As one, they all crossed their arms, and they all became enveloped in a bright, yellow aura. People squinted their eyes as they watched, and I didn't take my gaze off Flashbang as he prepared to leave. The Mini-Cons spread their arms out to their sides, and dozens of beams of light flew out in all directions. The beams spread out far and wide, connecting with Mini-Cons in stasis across the planet, one by one, reaching all ends of the country. But the beams didn't stop there, reaching out past our seas and land borders, hitting every single Mini-Con on the globe and causing them to glow like shining beacons.

Forests, deserts, snow, rain, city and beach, every Mini-Con stasis panel on planet Earth rose out of their landing posts and came into the air. Each and every Mini-Con disappeared, causing the bright light to vanish with them, and the light came back to the Mini-Cons gathered at headquarters, who all looked on at us as they disappeared. One-by-one, all of the Mini-Cons vanished, until only Flashbang remained. The two of us held eye contact with each other, neither wanting to say what had to be said.

_Thank you, Mathew,_ he said to me. _It was a privilege and an honor to be able to fight with you. I will never forget you._

"Goodbye, Flashbang," I said solemnly.

Flashbang nodded, and he disappeared as well, taking the shining light with him and leaving us all to look at the spot where he had gone. I clenched my fist tightly as my teeth gritted, and Naruto walked over to me.

"Don't think about it as goodbye," he said to me. "Think of it as until next time."

I nodded as I looked at him, and at that moment Optimus stepped forward. We all looked up at him and Red Alert, and Optimus said, "This is where we take our exit as well."

"Don't be strangers," I said to them. Optimus nodded, and he and Red Alert disappeared as well. The rest of us walked out of headquarters as a group and came back to the city, which was still far from being rebuilt. Tsunade, Kakashi and Naruto stuck around to help in some of the cleaning process, but they would soon have to return to the Leaf. I joined my allies in the rebuilding of the city, watching as two different worlds joined for a single cause.

I had come from Saint Peters, but then had been taken to the Leaf for reasons I hadn't been able to comprehend at the time. And then when all seemed peaceful in that world, my home had been threatened. I made new allies in Saint Peters, finding a place to belong in SNIS, and I helped them the way I had helped the Hidden Leaf. In the past few months, both of my worlds had been threatened by the same enemy, and I had had to stand tall to save them both. People have been wondering whether I would dedicate myself to being in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, or in SNIS. My response: why can't I do both?

* * *

Naruto Chronicles may be over, but Matt Withau is not done. This was the beginning of a long-term series that I'm going to be writing, continuing after the events of NC. This new series, called SNIS, will be debuting sometime in late 2015 or early 2016. Until then, I'm going to be working on other projects, but I'm also going to be preparing for SNIS. My immediate goal is to completely update the wiki. So by the time that SNIS rolls around, I will be able to keep up with it chapter by chapter, and it will be much easier for people who read the series and visit the website to keep up. I will also be working on things relating to SNIS in order to hopefully draw new readers in and get them interested in the series. But until that time, it's been a good three and a half years. I hope you guys will continue to like Naruto Chronicles, and hopefully I'll see some of you commenting on the SNIS chapters. For now, I bid you adieu.


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